Harry Potter and the Pit of Time
by Synthetic
Summary: Ch 16 UP! After an unexpected incident Harry might not even make it to Hogwarts! Lies, convictions, and Voldemort coming into the heat of his powers. Is there any hope for Harry? Could Harry's biggest ally come from the supernatural? UNIQUE PLOT!
1. Chapter 01 - Meeting the Unknown

_Harry Potter and the Pit of Time_

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

Thanks to those who reviewed Chapter 1! I've fixed a little problem with dates, where I accidentally had written Harry's birthday as June 31st.

**Chapter 1:**

In the household of 4 Privet Drive there sat a teenager awake, working on his summer homework. This was as far as 'normal' went when it applied to Harry Potter, as his homework was for a wizarding school, and he was writing on a scrap of parchment with a quill. Harry Potter was not just a wizard; he was one of the most famous wizards in the world. As a 1-year-old baby he bought the downfall of the most powerful dark wizard of the age, Lord Voldemort. This downfall, however, was only short lived, and Voldemort was back once again. Thinking back to the end of last term still bought a tear to Harry's eye, as he remembered Wormtail killing Cedric Diggory. Harry, who caused the downfall of Voldemort, also played an involuntary role in his reincarnation. His own blood had been used to revive Voldemort, and Harry had escaped death narrowly yet another time in his life. 

Harry was depressed, as he lay on his bed trying to forget about the events of last year. Part of this depression was feeling lonely, for he had not received any mail from the wizarding world so far in the holidays – and he didn't know why. All he could do was hope that his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were okay, and that Voldemort hadn't resumed his rein of terror. It was 11:35 on July 30th, and Harry's birthday was 25 minutes away. Harry was looking forward to this. His feeling of anticipation was no thanks to the Dursleys, Harry's caregivers for the last 14 years of his life, the most he could hope for from them would be a grunt of recognition, or less work to do for the day. No, this feeling was because Harry thought that no matter why his friends weren't writing to him; they would never overlook his birthday. He felt very lonely on Privet Drive. The only person he had to keep him company was Hedwig, his pet owl. He longed for the day he would get back to Hogwarts, where he would be in his element once again. 

Suddenly, there was a loud 'pop' noise, and 3 people appeared before Harry's eyes. Despite the number of times he had seen wizards apparate, this made him jump back in surprise. Wizards apparating into Harry's room was bound to mean bad news. Harry looked up to see that they were all dressed in dark black robes, with the letter 'A' written on their back. The wizards were all well built, and Harry didn't fancy his chances of defeating them in a wizards duel. Harry's first thought was self-defence. Instinctively, he made a desperate lunge for his wand, but before he could lay a finger to it, he heard three voices chant '**Stupefy**'.

******************

When Harry awoke, he was in a narrow room, which seemed more like a cell. He opened a curious eye, studying his surroundings. His mind immediately blamed Voldemort, even if the people who captured him didn't appear to be death eaters. Harry began acting on impulse. He had experienced situations like this before, and he knew that it was best not to panic. He was tense, but he did not feel afraid. The lack of blood in his cell, combined with the fact that his scar wasn't hurting, reassured him somewhat that he was in no immediate danger. In the corner sat a rusty metal basin and a toilet, while in the other corner was a bunk bed. Having just awoken, Harry felt no need to sleep, so he sat on the bed and thought of all the places he could be, and why people might apparate into the middle of his room in the middle of the night.

After what seemed like hours, Harry heard footsteps outside his cell. He watched as a block of wood on the door slid back, revealing a pair of blue eyes, which studied him for a moment, before being replaced once again by the wood. He then heard footsteps march along the corridor again, heading back to wherever they came from. 

A few minutes later, he heard footsteps again. As they drew closer, he felt a coldness overtake him. There was only one thing that could cause this: dementors. His theory was confirmed when the door was pulled open, revealing 4 wizards and 2 dementors. The lead wizard entered, and wrapped a piece of string around Harry's hands, which magically bound his hands together, at a slightly-more-than-necessary tightness. The lead wizard then said, "You will be seen now", and headed out the door. Harry decided it was best that he did so, as he didn't particularly like the idea of being stunned yet again. He followed the lead wizard out the door, while the other three all seemed to take a different side around him: one on each side, and one behind. The two dementors seemed to trail along behind. Despite the obvious strength of the wizards, they all looked quite sick, and the source of it appeared to be the dementors. This, however, was nothing compared to how Harry felt, who was fighting with unconsciousness. Harry vaguely remembered walking along a wide hallway, before walking up some stairs, and walking along a well-lit corridor. After what seemed like hours, but was probably closer to minutes, the lead wizard motioned for Harry to stop, before opening a door to Harry's left. He motioned for Harry to enter, which Harry did. The sight that met him made him faint in delight.

When he regained consciousness he studied the room. He was in a courtroom! It beared an uncanny resemblance to the courtroom Harry had seen in Dumbledore's pensive. The courtroom seemed to have an oak look to it. On Harry's left was an elevated chair, occupied by a tall, well-built man, with a long face and brown eyes, who seemed not a day younger than 50. Harry concluded that this man was the judge. Situation directly in front of him, Harry saw what seemed like thousands of people, but was more realistically only a few hundred. All eyes in the room were focused on Harry, who merely smiled at them, relieved that he was not face to face with Voldemort. Suddenly, something seemed to click in his head, as he realised WHY they were staring at him. He was in the defendant's seat! He looked at the judge with a frown, and paled slightly. This was all a misunderstanding. As if on cue, the judge then stood, and looked down at Harry with a disdainful expression on his face, which could rival that of Snape any day. He began to speak in a deep, powerful voice. "The dementors have been removed because of your… weakness to them. I must warn you though, these aurors will use any means necessary should you attempt to escape." The Judge studied Harry for a moment, before deciding to get on with the proceedings. "Harry Potter, you stand accused with resisting arrest and the murder of Cedric Diggory. How do you plead?" Harry looked up at him, a shocked look on his face.

"WHAT?" Harry said, louder than he wanted to, wondering if the lingering effects of the dementors were impairing his ears. 

The judge, much to Harry's horror, confirmed that Harry's ears were infact working "You stand accused with resisting arrest and the murder of Cedric Diggory. How do you plead?"

Harry's mind was racing. Him, murder Cedric Diggory? Resisting arrest? He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He had that cold, vulnerable feeling still inside him that was the aftermath of the dementors. He desperately needed chocolate, he couldn't think straight. Harry felt guilty for what had happened, but he had never wanted to hurt him, and he definitely did not feel he had murdered him. As for resisting arrest, he didn't know they were aurors! He had never seen an auror on duty.

"Not Guilty on both accounts."

The crowd let out a sigh of relief, as though they had been holding their breath for his answer. It seemed his word was good enough for some of them.

"Very well then, I must retreat to my chamber to decide on a trial date". With that the judge stood and left through a door that was located to the right of his high chair, on the opposite side of the room to the door Harry had entered through. 

After 10 minutes, according to the courtroom clock, the Judge re-entered. His deep, booming voice begun again "Harry Potter, on September 1 you shall stand trial for the murder of Cedric Diggory. The trial for resisting arrest will be held on the 28th August. This court has decided that bail will not be an option to you. You shall be held in confinement until the trial date. Have you any questions?" 

Harry found that he had more than enough questions, but his voice was nowhere to be found. He was, in all instances, in a state of shock. He was going to spend a month in jail, guarded by dementors for the murder of Cedric Diggory. He had no idea of his rights, no idea if he was allowed visitors, and no idea why he was up for the charges in the first place. 

"No? Court Dismissed".

The guards rose and stood on either side of him, in the same pattern as before. At least he knew what they were now, aurors. The only time he had ever seen aurors in uniform was in Dumbledore's pensive, but their dress code appears to have changed since then. Harry was lead away, towards the same door he had entered through. As it grew closer, he felt that same cold feeling overtake him, and knew that dementors would be there to greet him on the other side of the door. He knew one thing was certain: Fudge had something to do with this.

=======================

I need all the constructive criticism I can get! I'm an amateur at writing fanfics, so please leave any tips. 

Chapter 2 has already been written, and I intend on publishing it sometime in the next 24 hours. I should be able to get at least another chapter written over the next two days, possibly even two.


	2. Chapter 02 - Left to his own thoughts

_Harry Potter and the Pit of Time_

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

Thanks to those who reviewed Chapter 1! I've fixed a little problem with dates, where I accidentally had written Harry's birthday as June 31st.

**Chapter 2:  **

Harry awoke to a loud banging noise coming from the back of his cell. As his mind begun to register the events of the day before it was stopped mid-thought as that same cold feeling overtook him once again. He knew that outside his cell there would be a group of dementors, happily patrolling the doorway. He opened an eye, ran a hand through his messy black hair, and got out of his bed. The banging noise continued, so he spun around to look at what he was sure would simply be the back wall. Not for the first time in the last 24 hours, he nearly fainted. Where the wall once was, there was now a glass panel, and on the other side of it was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Harry frowned, wondering if the dementors had begun to play tricks on his eyes. He was sure there had been a wall there yesterday. 

Harry kicked himself mentally, realising his stupidity. He was a wizard, in a wizarding prison; all he could be thankful for was that this was not Azkaban. He had somehow expected life in a wizarding prison to be like that of a muggle prison. He walked up to the glass wall, and studied the man on the other side. Dumbledore looked very grave. He was the first to speak, which was good for Harry, for he was once again not able to find his voice. 

"You don't look so well Harry. I suspect you have plenty of questions?"

Harry nodded at this, and Dumbledore went on.

"Let me first tell you what I know. The reason you are here is because Minister Fudge was under severe pressure to account for the murder of Cedric. The Daily Profit published an article, which raised questions of the death, and speculated that Voldemort had been behind it. Fudge couldn't handle the pressure, and said that you had been found with Cedric's body by the cup. He claimed that you murdered Cedric, bought him back, and made up a story about Voldemort. He said that the two of you fought over the cup- "

At that moment, Harry did indeed find his voice. "WHAT?" 

"I know Harry, this will all come as a surprise to you. This information has only been disclosed since your arrest. Unfortunately, it seems that Fudge takes this trial as his own trial, and will do anything, and I mean anything to see that you lose. Keep an eye out for yourself Harry; there are dangerous times ahead. I will be here to help you through it, but you will have to represent yourself, as wizards don't believe in lawyers and such."

This was the last thing Harry wanted to hear. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, since the death eaters had all represented themselves in Dumbledore's pensive. It scared Harry that the minister wanted to him in Azkaban. 

"We will be able to plan your defence later Harry, but there is also someone else here to see you."

With that, Dumbledore motioned to a person next to him, whom Harry couldn't see. The person moved into the view of the window, and Harry was shocked to see a tear-stained, red-eyed Hermione Granger step into view. 

"Ohh Harry!" She said mournfully, as though he had just been sentenced to death. Is this really that bad, thought Harry? I never considered the possibility of loosing before, but am I going to be sent to Azkaban?

Dumbledore seemed to notice that Hermione was having no positive effects on Harry, and hastily said "Hermione, Harry could do with more reassurance than your tears".

At this Hermione seemed to perk up, and they proceeded to talk about the holidays and any other subjects that sprung to mind, avoiding anything to do with prisons.

Harry was pleased to learn that Hermione had infact had a good holiday, and had been to Bulgaria where she saw Victor. He was also disturbed to learn that she had been in the middle of her trip in Bulgaria when she heard the news, and had flown back immediately. Harry had discovered that Ron was unable to attend, but never got a reason why. Harry silently suspected Ron thought he was guilty, but he didn't say anything, and kept reassuring himself that this was not the case. It seemed like they had only been talking for a few minutes, but Harry knew it was a lot longer than that, when a guard appeared behind Hermione and said that visiting time was over. The glass magically disappeared, to be replaced by a wall once again, and Harry was left to his own thoughts for the rest of the day, being interrupted as meals magically appeared beside the door. The dementors, who seemed to be having a field day outside his cell, quickly stripped the brief happiness he had felt when seeing Hermione and Dumbledore. 

In the weeks that followed, Dumbledore had come to visit him every day, looking graver every visit, as Harry was speaking less and less. The sessions eventually became unproductive, and seemed more like a counselling session for Harry, who was becoming more dejected by the day. 

The dementors' effects seemed to amplify on Harry, who passed out at random in his cell. Hermione visited occasionally, but she wasn't very helpful either, she cried at the sight of Harry on many occasions, which did nothing for his moral. 

Slowly the days disappeared, and the two trials approached. Harry almost never spoke to anyone; he ate, slept, and reflected. He was deprived of many of his happy memories, but despite this, he still analysed his life as best possible, as he found that most of his memories still remained. 

The dementors seemed to think that leaving them with him would make him worse, but they were wrong. Even in grave situations, the knowledge that his friends had been there and shared them with him made him happy. He didn't know if it was because the dementors simply didn't understand relationships or not, but it seemed that something Harry consider a normal day was what they considered terrifying enough to let him keep, and thus Harry found that very few of his memories were actually taken. 

He reflected on life, most importantly on his friends, and how they had always been there for him. He thought of how loyal Hermione had been throughout his life, his strongest memory of her was spending hour after hour with her training him for the TriWizard tournament, even when she was going out with Victor. He thought of how she had helped him through his studies, and how she had been a person to talk to.

He thought about Ron, and found that the thought of Ron was painful, as he still hadn't been to visit him. He also felt thankful of Ron, for the times he had been there, a friend that understood what he was going through. He missed Ron, for Ron was whom he talked to about his deepest feelings. He missed the long quidditch conversations, his rude jokes, and the happy memories they shared with each other. 

Harry thoughts about Hogwarts, and remembered his own terror of the sorting ceremony. How he wished things were that basic once again. He thought about being sorted into Gryffindor, and how close he had come to being in Slytherin. His thoughts once again drifted to Hermione – she was sorted into Gryffindor, yet she was the smartest witch in the school. Shouldn't that make her a Ravenclaw? He realized that for Hermione to be a Gryffindor she would have to be braver, and possess more Gryffindor qualities than the smartness of Ravenclaw. It didn't surprise Harry when he realized this, as he thought of the determination she showed when it was needed, and her loyalty to others.

He thought of the times he had crossed swords with Voldemort, and reflected on what his life would be like if he wasn't in the wizarding world. He thought of living life on 4 Privet Drive as an ordinary person, being oblivious to things like quidditch and Hogwarts. He tried to imagine himself not knowing Ron or Hermione, but he couldn't. He belonged here, and he would fight no matter what to keep it that way. 

******************

On the day before Harry's first trial, Harry was to receive yet another surprise. For the first time though, it was a good surprise. Dumbledore had awoken Harry in the morning in his customary way through the glass panel, and Harry had reluctantly climbed out of bed and wondered across the room. He had fainted again – this time out of joy. Standing before him was Ron Weasley. Ron's somewhat strained smile cheered Harry up a lot, for he knew that no matter what the dementors did to him, they could not destroy the things that make up Harry Potter. Those things were his best friends. He had bound the memory of who they are to his soul. At the time he couldn't recall all the good memories, but he knew that they were there. Harry nodded happily to Ron. Ron seemed to be Harry's lack of words, and started speaking, "I'm behind you no matter what Harry. I'm sorry I haven't visited, but Fred and George found an investor for their business, and have made lots of money. They shouted the entire family a holiday in New Zealand!"

Harry felt proud of himself as Ron said that, but was unsure why. 

Ron continued, "It was really great! But when I heard the news there were no flights back for a few days… Nice place, New Zealand… But it's quite a small place."

Harry doubted that this was the whole reason for it, but dismissed it, since his gut feeling couldn't be justified by his mind.   
Ron went on to explain about New Zealand, about the lovely sights and friendly people… Harry just continued to nod through his speaking, listening but not comprehending most of what he said. Harry felt happy in the presence of his friend. Eventually, however, it was time for Ron to depart, and Harry reluctantly waved goodbye to Ron, who was retreating through the open door, with Dumbledore at his side. 

The happiness of Ron's visit was stolen as fast as the evening arrived, and Harry was in a very bad condition. He wasn't speaking to anyone, because he didn't trust the accuracy of what he said. Harry seemed to have a weakness to dementors, which wasn't surprising, considering how bad his worst memories were. His good memories were thinning down, and his mind felt incomplete. He sat on his bed, deep in thought. 

Its funny, he thought to himself, when you have very few memories, you seem to grab at one and hold onto it for dear life. He had grabbed hold of one memory – when Hermione and him had just defeated Snape's potion test in his first year. Harry was terrified at the time, but Hermione had told him that he had the true makings of a wizard, friendship and bravery. She had even hugged him, which Harry would only secretly admit to liking – it was one of the few times he had been hugged. The hug was one of the very few intimate moments in his life, and it seemed to be the only one he could remember fully – he had no intention of letting go of it. With that moment of embarrassment in mind, he fell into a dark, Voldemort-infested sleep, of the nightmare kind. 

=======================

That's Chapter 2! Please Review! Your opinion very important! I bet you can't guess what happens next? 


	3. Chapter 03 - Unfair Arrangements

_Harry Potter and the Pit of Time_

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks. 

Thanks to those that expressed interest in Chapter 2. It appears to me that my writing is getting worse chapter after chapter, but I will try and make it more interesting. I enjoy writing, and I can assure you that the story will be more explosive than the beginning. I enjoy twisting the story, and I guarantee that the plot of the story will NOT be obvious, and there will be twists and turns, just like the books!

Just a note on the spelling of 'defence' – in New Zealand, where I come from, it is spelt 'defence', not 'defense'. Apologies for that, but it is intentional. I guess you will have to bear with me, as I will probably get into a nasty habit if I start spelling it defense. Thanks for reading, please review and tell me what you think.

**Chapter 3:  **

Harry slowly drifted out of his dark and gloomy sleep, feeling a hand tapping his shoulder. He was about to retort, when his mind registered where he was. It dawned on him that today was the first of his two trials – the day he would go before the wizarding world to face trial for resisting arrest. Fudge will do anything to keep me here, Harry thought bitterly. His head suddenly snapped up as he remembered that someone had been tapping him on the shoulder. He looked up to see 8 wands pointed at him. Harry studied the faces of each of the men who had been given the duty of transporting him to his trial. Harry found that their expressions varied, some clearly had sorrow in their eyes, some had compassion in their eyes, and others just glared angrily. Harry was surprised to see how the wizarding world was split. 

"Time to go now, Mr Potter. Follow me."

Harry nodded and begun to follow two of the wizards towards the doorway. He stepped out, and then realised that something was… missing. He realised that the dementors weren't there! No wonder he could think straight! He was extremely thankful of this, as he doubted he would make it the whole way to the courtroom if he were in the presence of dementors. He had two wizards on all sides of him, but he didn't care. He felt far less intimidated knowing they couldn't take his soul from him. For the first time in the time he had been imprisoned Harry could think with a clear mind. Mentally, he began organizing his defence, as he trekked along the corridor.  

All too quickly, he was approaching the courtroom door. He marched inside with newfound confidence, and followed the lead auror to his seat. Harry was mentally very fragile, and was physically exhausted from the lack of exercise, but it didn't show on his face as he confidently took his seat, to the right of the judge's chair. He surveyed the audience, and the courtroom seemed even bigger than last time.  

The whole courtroom stood, so Harry copied, watching as the judge leave his chamber with a very pleased looking Cornelius Fudge, and begun walking towards his chair. The Judge took his seat, while the Minister of Magic retreated to a seat in the front row of the audience. The Judge stood and begun speaking. 

"As the Minister of Magic has pointed out," he said with a small sneer in his voice, "The removal of the dementors was a small jeopardy to the safety of those gathered. Although it is not uncommon for dementors to be removed from the courtroom, the Minister has expressed his sincere worries on your behalf, and we have both agreed-" He seemed to sneer this as well "-That it is important for your safety at this important time, and so the dementors will be fetched". 

Harry felt scandalized. He almost fell out of his chair as the Judge said this, and as the Judge finished his next statement, he did. 

"Not only that, the Minister has commanded that since he is present the number of dementors present should be lifted from the standard 2 to 6."

After climbing back into his chair and looking very stupid, Harry simply glared at the minister, with pure hatred in his eyes. To the people present, the look of hatred in Harry's eyes made him look like a convicted criminal.

Suddenly, the courtroom door opened. Without looking, Harry knew that the dementors were now entering, as he felt a horrible feeling overtake him, like his blood was turning to ice. He faintly remembered the Judge saying, "Would the Auror Malcolm Winstanly please step up to the stand", and seeing the leader in the group that had detained him step forward, before the effects of the dementors overwhelmed him, and his head sagged onto the table, unconscious. 

He regained consciousness in the middle of one of the other Aurors talking, and sat up, trying to fight off the cold feeling again and listen to what was being said.

"…-He was bringing his wand up level with us, we had no choice but to stun him. Despite our warnings he was prepared to attack!"

In Harry's mind he knew that this was a lie. He had received no warning as to who they were, and he hadn't even touched his wand. Harry wondered if they were lying out of their own free will or whether they had memory charms placed on them. Anger flashed through Harry's mind as he realised that minister Fudge was probably blackmailing these aurors who simply want to keep their job. He also realised that it would be his word against theirs, and the odds were not strong. Harry felt more vulnerable than he had in his whole life – if things like this continued he didn't stand a chance at getting off. Technically he had lunged for his wand, but would they believe him if he said that he was acting out of self-defence, and had no idea that they were aurors?

Veritaserum would be his only way of defending himself, but if these aurors were under the truth potion themselves then it would be Harry's word against theirs, and Harry suspected that they would be believed, not him. Harry sat and continued to listen, but it was useless, he wasn't able to comprehend what they were saying. At regular intervals the judge would ask Harry if he had anything to say – and at all times he had refused comment, with simply saying that he had no idea that they were aurors, but Harry wasn't under the truth potion, and had apparently been asked if he wanted to go under it, but had been unconscious at the time. The judge was about to allow him to use it, but the minister had stood and said that correct courtroom procedures must be followed at all times. Harry sat in his seat, weak from the flock of dementors in the room, passing in and out of consciousness, catching glimpses of the discussion. It was clear to anyone watching that it was not a fair trial – the boy could hardly open his eyes, let alone provide a defence. 

Finally, it came time for Harry to speak his defence. Harry was too weak to stand, so he sat in his seat and begun.

"The aurors appeared in my room and I had no idea who they were. I attempted to get my wand in my defence – I thought they were working for Voldemort!"

The courtroom cringed when he said the name Voldemort, but after recovering the minister stood quickly "You have just come very close to committing treason. How would follows of You-Know-Who appear in your room, when he is dead?"

Harry knew he had gone too far with this statement though. No one would believe a 15-year-old boy who was mentally unfit. He hadn't meant to bring up Voldemort, but he wasn't thinking, so he simply said whatever came to mind.

Harry chose not to answer the minister, and lay his head against the podium in front of him, falling into a familiar unconscious state. 

When he regained consciousness it was because someone had cast some sort of charm on him. He knew this because he felt himself being mentally pulled out of nothingness, and his vision slowly blurred into view. He guessed that he had to be conscious to receive his sentencing. The judge was on his high chair, glaring at Harry, and a member of the jury was standing and preparing to read off a piece of paper.

"Does the Jury have a verdict?" Asked the Judge.

The head juror nodded. "The Jury finds the defendant guilty of resisting arrest, and recommends a sentence of 6 months in Azkaban and a fine of 100 galleons."

The Judge took a long time in pondering this, and then stood. "After consideration, I have decided that the defendant will be sentenced at the conclusion of his second trial for murder, as I believe the outcome may influence my decision."

The Minister of Magic stood to argue, but the judge would have none of it. "My decision is final."

The minister sat down quickly. Harry was surprised that the judge would have so much control over the minister, but he concluded that the minister didn't want to the public to think that he was after Harry.

Harry Potter very shakily stood, but fell back into his chair after trying to take a step. One of the aurors muttered "strengtherous" which instantly made Harry feel slightly stronger, and the effects of the dementors were temporarily weakened, to a bearable level. Harry managed to stand the second time, and walked slowly out the door, his eyes travelling around the courtroom as he did so, searching for eyes which didn't look hateful and convicting. His eyes found none, until they locked with those of Hermione Granger.

******************

The days between the two trials passed very quickly – owing to the fact that Harry was conscious for scarcely more than an hour each day. When the guards came and knocked on the door again, they found a very weakened Harry Potter, and it was clear he was not fit to attend his trial. Harry was not awoken; instead he was carried into the courtroom and sat in his seat. The aurors looked at the judge, who nodded. They then surrounded Harry, and chanted "strengtherous". A blue light shot out of their wands. The beams joined together before entering Harry's head. He slowly began to stir. Harry's eyes came into focus on the judge's head. No! He inwardly groaned. Not another trial. Not already. At the same time Harry realised that he was feeling better than he had been in the last few weeks. He supposed that he had been given some energy in order to continue his trial. The judge, who Harry later found out to be Judge Stichworth, stood. "The trial of Harry Potter for the murder of Cedric Diggory is now in session. Would the defendant like the take Veritaserum?

To this, Harry nodded. In the corner of his eye, Harry saw a look of horror cross the minister's face. A small bottle was bought into the room and placed in front of him. He drunk a little, but the Judge motioned for Harry to drink the rest, which Harry did so reluctantly, downing the disgusting liquid in a quick gulp. 

A fuzzy feeling came over Harry, which to Harry felt somewhat like the imperious curse. Harry was still exhausted, and gave up resisting quickly. 

The Judge began "Are you prepared to tell the truth?"

"Yes." Harry answered tonelessly.

"The prosecution shall begin. Representing the late Cedric Diggory will be Lucius Malfoy, whom the minister has assigned to this special case."

Malfoy stood, and smirked at Harry. Harry knew that if he went to Azkaban, he would be right where Voldemort wanted him, with the dementors.

"Mr Potter, is it true that you have had feelings for Cho Chang in the past?"

Harry gulped. He didn't have the power to resist it. Before he could stop himself the words escaped his mouth.

"I did." 

"Is it also true that Ms Chang was dating Cedric Diggory at the time of the third task?"

"It is."

And on and on the questions came. Harry noticed that Malfoy was reluctant to ask him if he had actually killed Cedric, because he knew that Harry would answer no.

"Your honour, I would like to call my first witness, Cho Chang." Harry blinked at the name. Cho was going to testify against him? How could this be?

Cho emerged from the front row and sat in a seat on the other side of the judge. Cho was asked if she would take Veritaserum, which she accepted, and confirmed that she would tell the truth.

"Cho Chang, do you believe that Harry Potter is responsible for the death of Cedric Diggory?"

"I do" came Cho's toneless reply.

Harry stared at her with a mixture of Horror and anger. What lead her to believe that?

"Please explain Ms Chang"

"He had reason to hate Cedric. Cedric was the Hogwarts champion, while Harry was not the true champion. Harry smuggled his name in there in an attempt to gain more fame, expecting people to like him. He asked me to the Yule ball last year, and I declined. He obviously hated Cedric for all of this"

"Thank you Ms Chang" Said the somewhat satisfied voice of Lucius Malfoy. 

Lucius bought in a handful of other witnesses, mostly students from Slytherin, who all claimed Harry would want to kill Cedric. The day was drawing to a close, and Harry still hadn't had a chance to testify. The trial grew older and older, until finally Lucius Malfoy stood and said, "No more from the prosecution at this present time your honour".

The Judge then looked up at the courtroom clock and said to those assembled "The defence will be heard tomorrow. We have run out of time today. Court dismissed."

******************

"Tell us what happened on the evening of the third TriWizard task."

The courtroom looked on anxiously, the court had been in session for half an hour, but the moment they had all been waiting for had approached. Harry had taken Veritaserum, and was preparing to testify the events that had happened. The minister looked shocked beyond belief when Harry had yet again accepted the truth potion. Harry wondered for a brief moment if the minister actually believed that he was guilty. 

Harry stood in his seat to explain. He wasn't as well as he had been yesterday, and was only just able to stand without falling over. He was thankful of the aurors however, as he was now able to listen to most of his trial without fainting. His memory, however, was an utter mess. The dementors were still set free to feast on him in the evenings, and his memory was very patchy. 

So Harry explained, tonelessly and carefully, for an entire 3 hours, what happened on the third task, going through each and every emotion, and being asked to repeat in places that he was unsure of. The entire room was staring in shock as Harry explained what happened during the maze, and continued explaining through to the moment when Cedric died. He was about to go on and explain the Voldemort encounter, but Minister Fudge stood from his place, loosing all dignity, "The boy could be lying! He might have cast a memory charm on himself, or got someone else to do it!"

Lucius Malfoy then stood "Permission to discredit the witness, your honour?"

To this the judge nodded. "Proceed Mr Malfoy"

Malfoy then turned his attention to Harry. "Does your memory have gaps in it?" He sneered.

"Yes." Harry replied tonelessly, knowing that technically he was right – Harry's memory was missing things, but he was sure he could recall all that happened on that night. The dementors had severely disadvantaged him though, and it looked as if Harry was going to suffer for it.

"So, in theory, it is possible that you could have cast a memory charm on yourself?"

"Yes."

"Your honour, I believe this discredits the defendant's testimony?"

"The testimony has been disregarded."

Harry felt his face drop. He didn't stand a chance now. There was nothing left for him to do. The Judge again seemed to hesitate, before looking at the courtroom clock and answering,

"The trial will recommence tomorrow for its final day. Court dismissed."

Harry Potter was one day away from a life sentence in Azkaban.

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If you have a got a minute, please review and tell me what you think. I'm keen to hear what people think of my writing, and where I can improve it. Do I need to be more descriptive? Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 04 - The Fate of Harry Potter

_Harry Potter and the Pit of Time_

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

Thanks for the reviews! 

**Chapter 4:  **

Harry Potter awoke from his sleep for what seemed like the hundredth time. He hadn't been able to sleep all night, as he kept thinking someone was tapping him on the back, trying to wake him up. He put this down to paranoia, as he knew the guards would wake him sooner or later, and he would face the final day of his trial, which was almost surely going to put him in Azkaban. Him, Harry Potter, the boy who lived. Put in Azkaban for murder. No one saw that coming. Not even Harry himself. Sleep wasn't going to come to him anymore, so he gradually opened his eyes, to the cell that had been his home for the past month. He still remembered that day, having people appear before him suddenly, diving for his wand and being stunned. His time here was like life in a living hell. Living with dementors in residence outside your door for a month was no ones paradise. The only thing he could take away from here with him would be reflection. He had reflected on his life from beginning to end, considering his mistakes, noting his achievements (the ones which the dementors hadn't conveniently stolen), and thinking of what his life would be if he were not the Boy Who Lived. After deciding that staring at the roof would do him no good, he slowly crawled out of bed and attempted to stand. He managed a slouch, but couldn't find the strength to make his back straight. He gazed around the room, knowing that for better or for worse, this would be the last time he was in this cell. His eyes came to rest on a small item in the middle of the room, which had a golden colour to it. He made his way across the room to it as fast as he could, with his eyes never leaving the small item that was situated near the middle of the cell. 

How did you get there? He wondered. Prisoners were not allowed any items in their cells, and it wasn't like the guards were going to give him something to play with. After staring at it for about 10 minutes, curiosity got the better of him, and he knelt down to pick this key-shaped object up. 

As he touched it he felt a soft jolt go through his body, but as he kept hold of it, he felt no such repercussions. He held the key firmly in his palm. A warm feeling begun to pulse through his weakened body, causing Harry to almost drop the key in surprise. Harry begun to feeling stronger. Slowly, very slowly, he began to feel stronger. Before long he was back to the strength of an average person, able to walk and even run around his cell.

Harry lay in bed for a while, never letting go of the key, exploring the thoughts that were slowly coming back to him. Maybe, just maybe, there is a chance of me winning this trial. He thought. If only I could get another chance at Veritaserum in this state. 

His thought process, however, was interrupted by the jingling of key's, followed by the click noise of a lock. He looked towards the doorway to see the guards looking right at him. Harry quickly put his hand behind his back, thinking that the guards would see the key and confiscate it. 

His action of haste, however, made things worse.

"Afraid of showing us something, eh?" Said one of the guards.

"Doesn't think the rules apply to him, does he?" Another said.

"Show us your hands!" Proclaimed the head guard, who had been watching Harry carefully.

Reluctantly, Harry took his hands from behind his back, to show the guards the key.

Harry looked at the head guard's face, to see what his reaction would be to the key. He was shocked to see that the head guard looked disappointed.

"Nothing? I was so sure…" The head guard begun muttering.

Harry just stared at him like he was insane. Or was it Harry that was insane? No, the key weighed on his hands, the key was increasing his strength, the key existed, but only he could see it.

********************

Harry was brought into the courtroom by his usual escort of aurors, and was then met in the room by the dementors. The dementors looked, if possible, uneasy in Harry's presence, and Harry felt like he was feeding off them. What was happening? He wondered. One of the dementors walked up to the minister, and muttered something in his ear.

"WHAT? YOUR AFRAID OF THE BOY?" The minister screamed, outraged by whatever the dementors had just said, but the head dementor was not listening, and he, and his comrades, were making a hasty retreat towards the doorway. This is just too weird, thought Harry. The dementors, who had such a horrible effect on him normally, were now afraid of him. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

The judge stood to speak "It seems that we have a minor problem with the dementors. We will fetch extra aurors to ensure the safety of the minister and observers". He said this with a smile, happy that he would be rid of those retched creatures, and that he had made a minor victory over the minister.

Eventually the extra aurors were fetched, and the court was ready to begin.

"The Defendant may now from where he left off yesterday." The judge announced.

Harry quickly found his feet "Your honour, could I testify again today?"

The Judge seemed to ponder this, and then nodded. Once again, however, the minister also found his feet. "Why waste our time when he has already been discredited! He will just lie again with some crazy He-Who-Show-Not-Be-Named story." The minister had a look in his eye, which said 'Do you want to keep your job'.

The Judge reluctantly agreed with the minister. 

Harry was disgusted that the minister could have this effect on the judge, but he knew from the start that fighting with the minister of magic would never be easy. 

"Your honour, Is there anything I can do to prove my innocence, or is talking a waste of time?" Harry put emphasis on the word 'anything', desperate for a way out of this mess. Surprisingly, it was Malfoy that answered

"Nothing that YOU are capable of Potter!" He sneered. 

Harry stared him straight in the eye, and said defiantly "Try me."

The Judge, noticing Malfoy was about to make a smart remark, begun to elaborate.

"The only thing we have is something close to, but more accurate than testifying. It is using a device called a probitas. In theory it projects your memory of an event onto a wall. If the victim is strong enough they may even emit the voice they are hearing. It has never worked well enough to prove the innocence of anyone. Strong wizards have proven it possible to work, but it has only worked bleakly, showing a distorting picture and very little sound. Those that have tried it say it is comparable to the crucio curse when trying to use it."

Harry gulped. He didn't think he could outdo powerful wizards, but he was an innocent man, and he wanted to prove it. Not to the wizarding world, but to his friends, Ron and Hermione. He didn't want them to think that he was a criminal.

"I'll do it."

A gasp came from the audience, who were shocked at the prospect of this happening. Harry could make out reporters scribbling on their quills at record speed, loving every minute of the trial. Harry glanced at the minister, who looked as though he had seen a ghost.

"There is nothing I can do to stop you, but I must warn you, this could drive you insane. The Crucio curse can cause grown people to go crazy if done for long enough."

Harry simply nodded. He knew what to expect. Voldemort had made sure of that.

*********************

The machine had been wheeled in, and everyone was anxiously looking at Harry Potter. The machine was a large, box-like shape. It seemed to have round indents in the side, and a hand-space for the person using it to put their wand arm in. It seemed that everyone in the room was holding their breath, as it was silent enough to hear a pin drop. Harry nervously placed his wand arm in the space provided, and waited. Nothing happened. Harry thought hard, then realised that he would need to think about what he wanted to show. He felt powerful and reassured, and he knew that the odd key was somehow responsible. Throughout the trial his power had been accumulating, but his power was not gaining anywhere near as fast as it was earlier that morning. He was well beyond his normal mental power, as he could see things far more clearly. 

To the audience, all that they could see was a small boy with his eyes closed, deep in concentration. No one believed for a minute that he would succeed; they were all far more worried about his mental health afterwards. Suddenly, light begun to trickle out of the device, which was projecting it up onto the wall. It was faint at first, but begun to get more and more distinct. 

Harry felt horrible, when they said it felt like the crucio curse they weren't joking. Harry was concentrating so deeply on trying to project, that he left himself no time to dwell on the painful feeling that every muscle in his body felt. 

The picture finally become understandable, and the audience found themselves entering the maze from Harry's point of view. They saw Harry and Cedric reach a fork in the path, and mutter lumos, before Harry bid Cedric goodbye. They saw Harry meet up with Cedric, and heard Cedric tell Harry about the blast-ended shrewt. Watching the projection, Cedric's family could be heard crying in the background at the sound of their son, which the box was reproducing at a perfectly accurate pitch – exactly how it had been that night. Everyone then saw Harry continue and meet up with the dementor, which Harry realised to be a Boggart. Everyone heard Fleur's high-pitched scream, and the picture jolted from side to side, looking for the source, just as Harry's eyes had done. The world suddenly went upside down, as Harry ventured into the odd mist. Darkness, as Harry had shut his eyes, then, when he opened them the world had righted itself as Harry mentally overcame the mist. They saw Harry meet a procession of dead-ends; before meeting face to face with the blast-ended shrewd Cedric had talked about. After defeating it, Harry wondered along another path, before Krum's voice sounded.

"Crucio!"

The air was filled with Cedric's screams. Everyone became aware of Harry running through the course to the source, as the picture begun to wobble. After breaking a whole through the maze, Harry met face to face with Krum. Krum turned to run, but Harry was too quick.

"Stupefy!"

Krum stopped dead in his tracks.

After Cedric had explained what had happened to Harry, they proceeded on. Harry met up with a sphinx, and completed its riddle. The audience were stilled shocked into silence after witnessing Krum put the Crucio curse on Cedric. 

Back in the present, Harry was fighting hard to keep the image playing. He still felt the pain, but it had numbed somewhat, as it seemed he was used to it. He had to keep going. The key was still firmly clutched in his left hand, while his wand hand was holding onto the machine in its correct place, clenched tightly.

The film continued, showing Harry meet up with Cedric again. Everyone saw Cedric running toward the cup, and they all saw what Harry had seen – the creature approaching Cedric. Harry had alerted Cedric of its presence, so Cedric managed to get away from it at the last moment. Everyone saw Harry and Cedric take on the creature – a huge spider, defeating it together. 

What they then saw caused many people to cry. Harry and Cedric were arguing over who deserved to take the cup. Harry offered it to Cedric, Cedric offered it to Harry. Harry had come up with the compromise: both accepting it together. Many eyes were moist. Harry's were, as he could hear the projection, but could not see it, since his eyes were firmly closed. They both grasped the cup together, and then suddenly – the landscape changed.

Harry and Cedric briefly discussed where they might be, when suddenly a figure approached. 

A distant voice said, "Kill the spare"

The figure that had approached them didn't hesitate, and chanted "Avada Kedavra!"

Cedric dropped, dead.

The man that had killed Cedric carried Harry across to a marble headstone, which he was forced against, but he first got a good look at the name. Tom Riddle.

The man bound Harry to the headstone, before revealing his face. It was Wormtail. A collective gasp sounded through those in attendance at the trial. They knew Wormtail as Peter Pettigrew, his real name. 

Harry, so caught up in the moment, had forgotten that all he needed to do was prove he had not killed Cedric, so he quickly tried to shut off the device with his mind.

He was bought into the conscious world with eyes of pity looking at him. The Judge seemed to have lost his seating, while the minister looked like he had just received a life sentence in Azkaban. Harry felt very sad at the memory of Cedric, but at the same time he felt a great deal of relief that he had got that ordeal off his chest. 

"Mr Potter, I am curious to know how that situation ended up, as the fact that Peter Pettigrew is alive will have a huge effect on the fate of Sirius Black."

Harry was shocked, he could get Sirius off the hook if he could find the energy to project some more evidence. He didn't want to have to do this again, better now than later. He also realised that people would learn of the return of Voldemort – something Professor Dumbledore would want him to do. He nodded his head. Fudge was now a horrible pale green colour. He knew what was to come next.

Harry resumed his spot in front of the device, putting his wand arm into position. The images resumed in front of Peter Pettigrew. What was seen next will haunt many of the people present. They saw the reincarnation of Lord Voldemort. They saw Harry's arm cut, Wormtail cutting his own hand off, and Voldemort rising back into his own body.

Everyone saw Voldemort use Wormtail's arm to summon the death eaters, and heard Voldemort talk with his death eaters. Every eye in the room was on Lucius Malfoy, who was cowering away below his desk. He knew he was a goner. They heard Voldemort recount to his death eaters how Harry stopped him from getting the Philosopher's stone. 

The room witnessed Voldemort put Harry under the Crucio Curse to prove that he could, and saw Harry shake uncontrollably from in front of the projector, it seemed that the Crucio curse was multiplied in the real world as well. People were shrieking every time Harry looked at Voldemort now, chilled to the bone of his face. 

Everyone watched with open mouths as Voldemort gave Harry back his wand and ordered him to duel. They saw Voldemort once again put the Crucio curse on Harry, and Harry refusing to answer when Voldemort asked him if he wanted more. They saw Harry beat the imperious curse, and witnessed Prior Incantatem as Harry's disarming charm and Voldemort's killing curse struck in mid air. They witnessed the light fighting its way across to Harry, before seeing the spirits talk to him and tell him to fight back. They saw Harry and the spirits devise the plan, and Harry accept the task of returning Cedric's body – multiplying his own chance of death in the process. They then saw Harry's escape. Harry quickly fast forwarded to Barty Crouch Jnr's confession of putting the Imperious curse on Krum – so that Krum didn't have to face trial for using an unforgivable on Cedric.

After delivering that short extract, his mind flooded with nothingness, and consciousness escaped him. 

*********************

Harry Potter awoke later that evening. He was mentally and physically exhausted, having relived the resurrection of Voldemort in an even more painful way, and being just as helpless as he was before. 

Harry curiously opened an eye, and was greeted with passing roads that were passing him at the average speed. He realised he was wearing a cloak that covered his whole body, but which he could see through. He tried taking it off, but he was stopped by the voice of someone to his right.

"Ahh, Mr Potter, you have awoken. I must ask you to please leave the cloak on your head. We are aurors, and we are transporting you back to your school. The cloak is a temporary hiding charm. It is impossible for anyone to track you while that cloak covers your head. I suggest you get some sleep, it will be a long time before we get to your school, and the ministry deemed Portkey unsafe after the recent… news." 

"Wha… what happened to my trial?"

"You were found not guilty by the jury, and the judge threw out your resisting arrest case in light of your innocence."

With a horrible and constant pain throbbing through every inch of his body, and a cleansing feeling at the same time that he supposed the odd key was responsible for, Harry lay back and closed his eyes, dreaming about Ron and Hermione, and the wonderful place that was Hogwarts. 

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See? I'm not so cruel after all. Twists and turns are what I'm made of. That may seem bizarre, but it ties importantly into the story line!


	5. Chapter 05 - The Value of Friendship

_Harry Potter and the Pit of Time_

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

Thank you all for your support. For those of you who didn't catch what I said when I wrote a review justifying the delay in posts:

------------------------

Sorry about the lack of updating. The reason behind it is I've been coding something, and have dedicated 15 hours of my last 5 days to do it. Truth be told, I had chapter 4 finished about 3 days ago, but I personally thought I had written it poorly, and was going to start all over again. But, Nappa asked to see it, and he liked it, so I decided to upload it and see what people's reactions were. 

-------------------------

That's my excuse anyway. This chapter would NOT be posted so soon if it wasn't for NAPPA. I managed to get it out 4 days after I posted the last chapter, as I said I would. He gave some very good feedback, which bought the chapter up in standard, as I was once again thinking of starting over again. He managed to convince me to remain determined, and complete the chapter this evening [NZ Time].

**Chapter 5:  **

As Harry Potter walked up the magnificent stairs, which he had become accustomed to during his life, he had just one thought in his mind. He was home. Physically, he was exhausted. Mentally, he felt like someone had lifted a huge burden off his shoulders, while at the same time jabbing needles into his brain for the fun of it. Supported by the aurors, he pushed open the huge oak door. He was aware of the heavy black cloak still on his shoulders, which he could see through, but which others could not see into.

As he crossed the entrance hall, the aurors steered him in the direction of the great hall. They were not allowed to leave until Harry was in the presence of Professor Dumbledore. Harry walked into the great hall, to find that the students had just begun breakfast. As he entered, all heads turned, and eyes went wide.

To the students, they saw someone under a black cloak enter, guarded by 8 very powerful and unwelcoming aurors. They strutted up to Professor Dumbledore, with their keen eyes searching for threats in the crowd. Whoever was under this cloak was obviously important.

When Harry got to the head table, the head auror carefully removed the cloak that covered him. As the cloak fell down bellow his face, people gasped.

Harry's expression was one of intense pain, but when he saw the students his face soon changed to one of happiness. He could see that same look of conviction in most eyes. A thought suddenly struck him.

" Professor, has the post arrived yet?"

Professor Dumbledore, with that twinkle Harry was accustomed to, shook his head. 

Well that explains the angry faces, thought Harry.

Everyone in the room, with the exception of the aurors and Dumbledore, thought that Harry was stopping off before heading to Azkaban. Cho was glaring at him, as if telling him to get out of her site, as were most of the Ravenclaws around her. The Slytherins were all smirking their usual 'your in for it now' look. The Hufflepuffs, well, they looked like they were ready to jump out of their seats and start a rumble there and then. His gaze travelled to the Gryffindor table. He saw a hopeful look in the eyes of many of his friends, but what surprised him most was the confident look on Hermione's face. She probably worked out that I'm not going by my body language, thought Harry dryly. 

As the flapping of wings was heard, people prepared themselves for the news that the Daily Prophet would bring. They knew that one way or another; they would know why Harry was here.

The flapping got closer, and Harry's heart begun to pound. He was aware of Dumbledore talking with one of the aurors behind him, probably about the trial. Harry was hoping desperately that the ministry hadn't found a way of stopping the press publishing it, and if it was published, he wondered what the reporters would have to say about him.

The first of the owls could be seen entering, and the bombardment begun. Copies of the daily Prophet were flying everywhere. Harry supposed that many people had subscribed to see what was happening.

An owl swoops down and dumped a copy in front of Dumbledore, who motioned Harry to read it. Gulping, Harry begun to read:

_The Boy Who Lived Again_

_By Rachael Sutton_

Today, the daily Prophet is proud to report that we were once again amazed by the boy who lived in one of the most twist-filled cases in wizarding history. We discovered that not only was the boy who lived innocent, but had also been through an event more traumatizing than most of us can imagine. Harry Potter saved himself from life imprisonment due to a minor miracle – using the probitas. In wizarding history we have never witnessed a clear enough projection to ever count it as evidence, but in this case it had unbelievable clarity. We have made available this testimony vision of this event through the picture below, after we received consent from the judge.

Harry groaned, and decided against reading the rest of the article. Everyone was going to see the event from his point of view. At least I made the front page, he thought dryly to himself.

Harry's eyes skipped to the picture. He watched as a warning popped up 'what you will see contains images of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at his full power. Watch at your own risk.' A censored version of the events that had taken place then begun. It missed out many bits simply displaying a message 'censored', and then continued. It showed most things, but it would not show Wormtail resurrecting Voldemort, it skipped to Voldemort duelling Harry. As people read finished reading Harry struggled to believe what he saw – literally, in the blink of an eye, the student's faces were changing from looks of anger and hatred to looks of horror, but deep inside them were looks of respect. Many looked up at Harry as they finished the article. 

Ginny was on the verge of tears, as were many others. The mood was nervous, but came to no real surprise – most students had believed Dumbledore's warning at the end of last year, and this just confirmed it, most people were feeling regretful and angry and themselves for judging Harry wrongly. 

As the teachers watched Harry through their eyes, they all had a look of pity on their faces. An ordeal like this was sure to make you grow up real fast. He had that look in his eyes which adults sometimes get after they have witnessed or been through a horrible event. A look of incompleteness, which made people respect that person for the ordeal they had witnessed.

Dumbledore's voice broke the silence that had fallen on the room when Harry had entered.

"It appears we have a student dropping in a bit late. Welcome back Mr Potter!"

Dumbledore announced.

A slow clapping sound begun to ring through the houses, which quickly grew in intensity to a thunderous applause. The whole school, with the exception of some Slytherins, applauded their hero – the world's hero. Harry Potter. Harry gave a grateful nod, before turning to Dumbledore. Under the still loud clapping Harry managed to ask, "May I rejoin my house, professor?"

Dumbledore nodded. Harry stiffly walked over to Gryffindor table, but before he go there, Hermione ran to greet him, engulfing him in a hug that rivalled those of Hagrid. Hermione's display of emotion really meant something to Harry. He had been dreading the reaction of his friends upon his return. After finally getting out of her hug, he took a seat next to Ron. Most people at the table, especially the first years, were staring at him in shock, still trying to digest the day's event.

"Err, welcome back Harry" Ron said uneasily.

"We knew you were innocent Harry!" Fred said happily.

"Never doubted you for a second, but you could sure do with a makeover" Added George, while looking at the very rough looking Harry.

Everyone laughed at the twin's antics, and Harry couldn't help but smile as life returned back to normal. The twins had broken the ice, and everyone begun chatting like old friends.

"Anything changed since last year?" Asked Harry, keen to discover what had occurred lately.

"Not much." Replied Ron sadly, glancing at the teacher's table with sad look and glancing at Professor Snape. 

"Whose the DADA teacher? I don't see one anywhere" Harry remarked.

"Ohh, haven't you heard? Ohh wait, that's right…" muttered Hermione.

"Its Professor Lupin! He agreed to come back temporarily." Ron added.

Harry's eyes flared up at this, and he begun searching the hall frantically for his favourite Professor. "Snuffles?" Harry asked in a low voice.

"Haven't heard anything", Ron answered, in a voice as low as Harry's.

Fred chose that moment to enter the conversation, and remarked happily "You should of seen Malfoy's face when he got the mail!"

"The git had been walking around like he owned the place the last few days" George muttered.

"Speaking of Malfoy's, what will happen to his dad?" Harry asked with interest.

"Ohh honestly, Harry, don't you read?" Hermione replied, rolling her eyes.

Looking at Harry's blank expression, she continued. "The Daily Profit say's that he has been taken into custody, and faces trial. I suppose you also didn't read the part about the Minister of Magic?"

 Again, Harry's face had a blank look.

After some muttering, Hermione launched into an animated talk on what was happening to the minister of magic.

"He has had his job suspended! He might loose it for good! They are holding a trial, and some people think he's a death eater for even thinking of putting you to trial over the murder."

"He's on trial because they think he's a death eater?" Harry asked quizzically.

"No, he's facing trial because he failed to listen to Dumbledore. He might be impeached of his position as minister!"

Talk soon drifted to quidditch, where Harry found out that a captain had not yet been named.

Professor McGonagall was soon passing out timetables, as today was Monday, so Harry hadn't missed any school.

"No… No… Anything but that!" Ron said, cringing. Harry and Hermione both looked at him, and he nodded. Potions.

"No you don't young man!" Shrieked Madame Pomfrey, who had just arrived in the great hall. "You'll be straight to the hospital wing!"

Harry felt like kissing her. Snape torturing him first period about how he should have been guilty was not his idea of fun. As Madame Pomfrey lead Harry away, Harry smiled back at the horrified face of Ron. Ron had a 'don't you dare' expression firmly in place, Harry smiled a tired smile, knowing Ron was heading to the pits of hell, also known as 'Snape's classroom' while he was going to the Infirmary. He followed Madame Pomfrey with his usual hobble – his body had not enjoyed that experience at all. Harry, having realised he arrived towards the end of breakfast, asked Madame Pomfrey if he could have something to eat. She nodded and muttered something about prison foods, and headed into her office.

She immerged with her usual tools, or weapons, as Harry liked to think of them, and gave him a full check up. 

When Harry had finished his check up Madame Pomfrey headed back to her office. Harry, stomach rumbling, was contemplating wether to get up and ask her about the food, or wait for her to get him some. Suddenly the infirmary doors burst open, to reveal a small creature with button-like eyes. Dobby!

"Harry Potter sirs! Dobby was wanting to see you, but they tells me 'Dobby, Harry Potter sirs is in trouble, he is not at Hogwarts' But Dobby didn't believe them sirs! Dobby says to them 'Harry Potter sirs is good!'"

"Thanks, Dobby" Harry said tiredly, but still happy to see his button-eyed friend. 

"We is bought Harry Potter food!" Dobby announced happily, before revealing a line of house elves behind him carrying food. Harry grinned at the wide assortment of the best food that there is: Hogwarts food.

***********************

Later that day, while Ron and Hermione were stilled tied up in classes, Dumbledore came to visit Harry.

"Hello Professor" Harry greeted groggily, sitting up and whipping the sleep out of his eyes. 

"Hello Harry. How are you feeling?"

"Is it possible to be on fire yet not being on fire?" Harry asked in reply. 

Dumbledore smiled. "How did you manage to get the probitas to work?"

"That key thing that you managed to smuggle in" Harry replied.

"Key?" Dumbledore asked, with a clearly curious voice.

"Err yeah, this" Harry said, holding the odd object in the palm of his hand for Dumbledore to see.

Dumbledore's eyes looked into his hands, but still had the same questioning expression.

"Harry, there is nothing in your hand."

Harry looked down at his hand, seeing the key. Why couldn't Dumbledore see it? More to the point, why couldn't anyone see it?" Harry thought, remembering the aurors fail to see it as well.

Am I just imagining things, is it not really there? But no, he could feel the weight of the key in his hand, and it had made him so powerful.

"Professor, I will see if I can put it in your hand" Harry thought, eager to prove himself sane.

Dumbledore nodded, and extended a hand.

Harry dropped the key into the hand, but before it got within grasp it floated there. 

"Professor, it is floating above your hand". Dumbledore moved his hand up in an attempt to secure what he could not see, but the key seemed to move out of his reach. "It is moving out of your reach professor, maybe only I can touch it or something".

Dumbledore had a questioning look in his eye, as if questioning Harry's mental health.

That was the last thing Harry wanted Dumbledore thinking - that the whole experience had driven him insane. But what if it had? Harry thought. No, I'm fine. That key did help me, no matter what anyone else thinks. 

Dumbledore soon stood to leave, and called Madame Pomfrey in to give Harry a sleeping potion. Harry lay down, with a lot of sleep to catch up on – he had been told earlier that being unconscious didn't restore a wizard's strength; it simply stopped it from being drained. Thinking about that Harry concluded that his strength hadn't regenerated at all, as he had been unconscious most of the time that he was in captivity. After drinking the fowl potion Harry instantly fell away into a deep, dreamless sleep. Or was it?

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Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. It has been your comments that keep me going, and keeps me trying to write better and better, and putting more effort in each chapter. Thanks to the members of the various yahoo groups I am a member of for your positive feedback as well.


	6. Chapter 06 - The strange bird

_Harry Potter and the Pit of Time_

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

I'd like to apologise for the big gap between the last update. I have just got back from a 10-day holiday, and am very tired. While I was away I wrote this though, and the next chapter is only 24 hours away.  Thanks to the huge amount of support I have been getting from my readers. I am really enjoying writing this. I have a weeks worth of holidays to come, and I intend on publishing chapters quickly to make up for what I have missed. The main plot of the story is starting to be introduced in this chapter, and the next chapter will really tell the tale, so be ready, the story is going to take a sharp turn. Quidditch wont be far off either.

**Chapter 6: **

Harry lazily opened his eyelids to the sound of shoes meeting hard ground. He gazed around and took in his surrounding – the Hogwarts infirmary. The thudding sound was coming from outside the door, and sounded like someone was pacing the corridor. After grabbing his glances he groggily stood up – which he found he could do very easily. Surprised at his obvious gain in strength, Harry walked to the doorway and cast a curious eye around the corner, looking suspiciously at the other side. He was pleasantly surprised to see a worried-looking Hermione and bored looking Ron waiting.

"Ron! Hermione!" Harry called.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, shocked at hear the voice of the person she had seen sleeping only minutes before. Ron's face mirrored the surprise that was clear in Hermione's voice, as he gapped at his best friend.

"That's my name" Harry replied with a smile, happy to see his friends.

Hermione recovered from her shock and ran to great him with a hug, which she wouldn't relent from for some time.

Harry looked at her with surprise evident on his face.

"You look like you've just seen someone come out of a coma" He joked. "Oh, and Ron, how was Snape this morning?"

Hermione and Ron looked at him like he was insane, and Ron answered for both of them.

"Harry, you've been out for a week. We thought you had been poisoned, but Madame Pomfrey said she had just given you a potion, which would make you sleep until were no longer tired… I don't know what you got up to while you were away, but you certainly didn't sleep much…"

"Are you ready to talk about it?" Hermione asked with concern.

"Yeah, lets go to the common room and talk about it"

"No you don't" A shrill voice said right into his ear. Harry spun around to discover that Madame Pomfrey had joined the conversation, and looked very displeased at Harry. "Unless your friends haven't already told you, you were asleep for a week. I'm surprised that you have the energy to stand up, let alone walk out the door."

"But I feel fine!" Harry rebutted, doing a small dance on the spot. In all truth, he had never felt better in his life. He could feel energy that wanted to be burned flowing through his veins. He had never experienced this feeling before.

Madame Pomfrey looked at him as if to ask if he was insane, which Harry thought was a fair question. Seeing that Harry was not going to back down, she relented. After a quick check up, Harry was released and allowed to continue on his path to the common room. As he strolled along the corridors towards Gryffindor tower he recalled his many memories of Hogwarts, the safest place on earth. He thought of his many accomplishments, and the many times he had saved the school from closure and chaos. He remembers how he had saved the philosopher's stone, killed the basilisk, saved Ginny's life, meet Sirius, and finally, been used to resurrect Voldemort. Ron was about to start conversation, but Hermione stopped him, sensing that Harry needed his silence. After stopping for a bite to eat at the kitchen, as Harry had missed dinner, they finally arrived at the portrait of the fat lady, which Hermione idly chatted to for a minute before muttering the password ("allegiance") and entering.

The common room was filled with the happy chirping of young wizards and witches chatting as they completed their homework. 

The chatter became silence as people stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Harry.

The respect and admiration was evident in their eyes, and many of them came across asking Harry how he was and sympathising with him. After fending off these questions ("I'd love to talk right now Colin, but Ron and Hermione need to tell me what I've missed in class"), Harry made his way into a quiet corner, and begun to relate his tale. He decided to leave out the bit about the odd key-shaped object, but Hermione was sure to work out that he was excluding something anyway, but he felt that she would understand.

After explaining what he had experienced to Ron and Hermione, Ron looked satisfied with his explanation, but Hermione looked doubtful, but if she was, she decided not to voice it.

Ron was the first one to speak, "It's a miracle you got out Harry… You looked really bad when I visited, but now I see why." For dramatic effect, Ron emphasised the word 'really'.

Hermione adopted her usual strict tone, and remarked, "Let hope that's all that happens to you this year, Harry".

Harry nodded, while Ron yawned, and looked at his watch.

"Look at the time! " said Ron, before standing and heading towards his dorm.

Hermione stood as well, and bid Harry goodnight, but not before she handed Harry the notes he had missed, and told him that he needed to take his owls seriously.

Harry had said goodnight, and said that he wasn't tired, having woken up not long ago.

Harry settled by the fire, and begun reading over the work Hermione had given him.

*********************

"Wake up sleepy head" Harry heard, as Hermione, whom had come across him in the common room during her morning stroll to the library, kicked him for the third time in the chest.

Groaning, Harry muttered something that sounded like 'inconsiderate witch', before heading to his dorm to change.

After reuniting with Ron, and getting dressed, Harry emerged from the stairs to the boys' staircase with Ron in tow. The trio headed down to breakfast at a lazy pace, and Harry had remarked, "Why did I have to choose Sunday to wake up", after discovering that double Potions with Snape was first on his agenda.

As Harry was becoming accustomed to, his presence caused the room to lapse into silence, before slowly picking up as conversations went on.

"Morning guys" Harry tiredly muttered to the rest of the Weasleys and his dorm mates.

"Morning Harry!" Everyone except the twins had chanted together.

"Wonderful morning old chap!" Fred said happily.

"Just splendid!" George added.

"Nothing good about it from where I am sitting," Harry sulked, regretting having been up so late last night and getting such a tiny amount of sleep.

"We just got a deal to sell our products to Zonkos!" Fred continued.

"Gunna make ourselves rich!" said George.

Everyone congratulated the twins, and then suddenly, Ron's right eye grew red, and left eye grew green. They then proceeded to blink like Christmas lights, while Ron danced to a Christmas carol.

Everyone cracked up with laughter, but it was short-lived by the 5th Year Gryffindors, as the potions class grew near.

Finally, breakfast was over, and everyone began to exit, but on his way Professor McGonagall cut Harry off.

"Mr. Potter, I would like a word in my office"

Harry followed obediently, hoping he had done nothing wrong, but at the same time wondering if his punishment would ever be worse than Snape's lesson.

When the finally arrived, Professor McGonagall lead him in and sat him down.

"Over your years here Harry, you have been a huge contributor to Gryffindor, and even the school."

Harry nodded, but he was confused as to where this was going.

"Well the headmaster and I have both concluded it would be best to make you a prefect. This would bring a lot of responsibility, but I believe it would also be rewarding. I'm sure your aware that Miss Granger is a prefect, so if you would like to discuss it with her first I would understand."

Harry simply nodded, honoured that Dumbledore and McGonagall had considered him worthy of prefect ship. 

"Of course I accept".

"Excellent, Potter. Another small matter is the position of quidditch captain. Who would you like to vote for as captain?"

Harry was thoughtful for a moment – who should have the job? Fred and George weren't serious enough, so it had to be a chaser. Alicia was probably the best leader – she was the head girl after all.

"I think Alicia would be best, Professor" Harry said.

Professor McGonagall nodded, happy that Harry had thought about whom he voted for instead of voting prematurely.

"That will be all Mr Potter. Please go to you first class".

Harry silently swore. He had only missed 10 minutes of potions, but Snape was sure to make a big deal of it. He hurried towards potions, running towards the dungeon at top speed. 

As he entered, an oily voice, which sounded all but friendly, was there to greet him.

"And what do you think your doing Potter? Arriving at my classroom whenever you please? 5 points from Gryffindor."

Harry was about to complain, but thought better of it, as Snape looked expectant of this, and his eyes looked hungry for the chance to rid Gryffindor of even more points.

"We will continue to learn about the lynx potion. For those of you who lack the ability to remember something from lesson to lesson-" He glared devilishly at Neville as he said this "- or those of you who think you're too good to attend potions-" His gaze shifted to Harry "- I will explain what it is. The potion works like a muggle strength-enhancer, but far stronger, and it takes effect instantly. This lesson we will make the potion." Snape had a firm smirk across his face as he finished saying this, and his eyes were following Harry with delight – he thought Harry had no idea how to make the potion – he was in for a surprise. Hermione, being the owl-a-holic that she is, had taken notes for him – which he had carefully read over that evening.

Harry worked his way easily through the potion, much to Snape's displeasure, and was among the first to finish – behind Hermione of course. He wondered why it seemed so easy for him to do the work all of the sudden – potions was usually so difficult, yet it came so naturally to him.

The bell rung, and Snape's voice rung out over the classroom, dismissing them all in his usual oily voice, but this voice was music to the student's ears – well, as close as Snape's voice could get to music.

The trio strolled down to lunch – thankful that they had survived the potions lesson, and with rumbling stomachs.

"What have we got next?" Ron asked, trying to stuff himself with food at the same time.

"Honestly Ron! Don't you learn your timetable?" Hermione replied, outraged.

"Hermione! We got them a week ago, and some of us have more important things to do. Right Harry?"

Seeing that a fight was imminent, Harry decided to remain neutral, by not replying at all.

All too soon, lunch had come to an end, and Ron and Hermione's argument was still in full force – they were on the brink of declaring war on each other. 

Harry couldn't help but laugh at their antics – if this was how they fought as friends, their fights as a married couple would seem like a volcanic eruption.

Harry left Hermione and Ron in his wake as he ran to great his long-time friend Hagrid, the person that had given him hope in life and introduced him to the wizarding world. 

"Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed, as he grew closer to the half-giant. Hagrid looked up, and upon seeing Harry, ran at him with full force and enveloped him into a bone-crunching hug, which felt more reassuring than painful to the young wizard.

"Great teh see yeh alive an' well Harry!"

"You too Hagrid!" Harry replied with a squeak, pointing to his throat to indicate his lack of oxygen. When Hagrid let go of him, Harry asked the question the whole class had been dreading the answer to, "What creature are we studying?".

"We r' doin' the house creatures this yer" Hagrid answered.

In many ways that was a bad thing for Harry. Since the Gryffindors did Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins, they would have to do a snake, which Harry didn't particularly want to converse with in front of the class.

As the Slytherins joined the class, Hagrid stood to repeat what he had said to Harry.

"All righ' you lot, yeh hav' owls this yer – so we have to start getting harder-" The class groaned loudly, and many were shaking at the prospect of what Hagrid considered 'harder' than blast-end shrewds.

"-So we'll be startin on yer house creatures – one ada time."

The class let out a collective sigh, and breathing patterns returned to normal.

"firs' we'll be startin with the slytherin snake – these snakes ar special – an ye'll be caring for 'em in groups of 3, so get inter yeh groups."

Hagrid then went on to explain about the snakes, and the class learnt that they would have to take care of their creature, and this would contribute to their owl mark. If the creature died they would gain an instant fail, and the health of the creature would depend on their mark. As Hagrid was about to hand allocate the creatures, the bell boomed, and the students left to head back to the castle as quickly as they could.

The trio then headed towards their transfiguration class. The trip from Care of Magical Creatures to Transfiguration was a long one, so they hurried in order to arrive on time.

They hurried along the narrow hallways, and the changing staircases, before arriving inside Professor McGonagall's classroom, and taking their seats in the front of the class, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive. 

"Good afternoon students" Professor McGonagall screeched, in her usual voice. "I trust that you are all aware of your OWL's this year?"

Hermione beamed, while the other students collectively let out a groan.

"Good. Remember that this year we will learn to transfigure large objects into small objects, and even small objects into big objects, which is not easy, mind. We will also learn about animaging, as the ministry requests us to do. As I said last lesson, I expect you all to remember what we learnt last year." She glared at Neville.

"In today's lesson, we will be transfiguring our desk into ink quills. I doubt any of you will be able to get it today – but don't worry, I will come around and give you all some personal help. It takes practice."

"And don't think I have forgotten, I expect your holiday homework on my desk before the end of class" She looked understandingly at Harry when he raised his hand, and he lowered it again: knowing he was not expected to hand an essay in.

The class then proceeded to watch with a lack of fascination what they had gotten used to in their 4 previous years at Hogwarts: One object changing into another. Professor McGonagall concentrated hard, and then changed the full-sized table in front of her into a simple quill. In all his time at Hogwarts Harry had never seen Professor McGonagall forced to concentrate while transfiguring something, so he doubted he would be able to do it – yet he felt strangely confident.

Before starting, Harry watched the other students in the class to see how they were getting on. Harry watched a particularly bad attempt by Neville, which ended up transfiguring the table into a table – a feet that could be accomplished without magic, yet Neville looked proud: at least it hadn't exploded.

Glancing around, he saw that many attempts were no better: Tables changing into quills the size of tables – but no one was having much luck.

Harry looked at his own table, and willed the table to change into a quill. To his utter astonishment, it did just that. Where his table had been, a quill now was. Harry was so surprised, and so sure that a table had been there, that he unintentionally changed it back again. Touching the solid wood of the table, he asked himself the unanswerable question: Am I going crazy? Had he just transfigured a table into a pen, first try, doing it with more ease that McGonagall had, and then accidentally transfigured it back, or had he imagined it? He tried again, but discovered he couldn't do it this time. He was so angry with himself for forgetting how to do it that he accidentally burnt it to a crisp. Harry had mixed feelings about this: shock at his ability to burn something accidentally, and furious at himself for doing it. How was he going to explain destroying a school table? While trying to come up with excuses Harry was shocked to discover that the table had returned, and there were no signs that it had ever left. 

This is just too weird, Harry thought to himself. He decided that attempting to transfigure the table was not his best option, and went back to watching the other students. He found that things had hardly changed: weird-shaped objects were emerging where tables had once been, but not one of them was any smaller than the table had been, and many of them where not even distinguishable as quills.

Harry could see Professor McGonagall walking around the class, muttering the odd comment like "Think in smaller proportions. Think of the small details of a quill, think of the small details."

Not wanting to stand out in class, Harry pretended to be reading from the text book, and gave a swish of his wand every now and then for good measure. Professor McGonagall's shrill voice could suddenly be heard.

"Ahh! Miss Granger! Everyone look at this," The class gathered around Hermione, to view a quill about five times larger than normal, "This is getting closer. I expect by the end of the week you will have it right." 

Hermione beamed at this comment, while Professor McGonagall was looking at her proudly. Harry almost laughed.

Soon, the bell sounded, and the class made a hasty retreat from the classroom.

The trio gathered outside.

"Lets go to the common room before dinner" Ron suggested.

"No! Harry needs to catch up on what he has missed. We have owls this year Ron! How could you forget them?" Hermione said, sounding outraged at the idea.

Harry didn't really have many alternatives. He was sure to offend Hermione if he declined, but Ron would understand if he decided to study…

"I suppose I had better catch up on my studies" Harry said reluctantly.

Ron seemed not to mind, and replied, "Okay, I will see you later Harry", before heading towards the Gryffindor common room.

Harry and Hermione walked swiftly to the library, but the idle talk soon changed.

"So Harry, how exactly did you win your case?"

Harry signed, knowing that he couldn't keep anything from Hermione, and decided to tell the truth.

"Well… This will sound very odd, but I don't know. This really odd object appeared on the floor. When I touched it, it slowly gave me back my strength, and it got me strong again, and now I'm beginning to discover I can do things really easily… I don't know how it got there, it was just… there… when I woke up in my cell…"

Hermione had a searching look on her face, watching Harry carefully, trying to expose a bluff, but soon she seemed to accept this, and her face took on a thoughtful look. It was an interesting thing to see, Hermione's face changing from a searching expression to a thoughtful expression, with her eyes loosing focus and her gaze shifting to just beyond Harry.

"I know you probably think I'm insane… I think Dumbledore thinks that…" Harry said nervously, hopeful that his friend would not write him off like the others.

Hermione seemed to have come to her conclusion, "Of course not Harry! There's only one solution, as I always say-" Harry knew what was coming next…

 "-Books!"

 So, they searched the library for anything that might assist them. Unfortunately, they had a serious problem with their search, and that was that they had no idea what they were searching for. They looked for any books on magical objects, and found that the library had volume upon volume of magical objects. They browsed through a few well-known books, but it became clear that this would be an enormous assignment. With dimmed spirits, they headed towards the common room, to rendezvous with Ron, which they did successfully at the portrait of the fat lady. They turned and headed for dinner, chatting as they went.

"So how was studying Harry?" Ron asked with a smirk.

"Ohh… umm, as good as studying with Hermione can be…" Harry replied, trying to savour the look of anger on Hermione's face, and the amused one that crossed Ron's.

"I'll take that as boring" Ron said with a laugh, sidestepping Hermione's back arm.

 Harry, sensing a war was imminent, tuned out and thought about his unsuccessful search. Having no idea what the object was worried him, but whatever it was, it was increasing his power and energy at an alarming rate. Harry couldn't describe the feeling of power that was coursing through his veins, which he felt was not even at a climax yet. He needed to find out what it was, who had given it to him, and how it got there. For all he knew it could be a dark artefact, but that made no sense, Voldemort would have him where he wanted him in Azkaban, wouldn't he? Or did Voldemort want him powerful? Did Voldemort want to convert Harry? So many questions, so little answers, and Harry needed them, fast. Dumbledore didn't believe him, and if he didn't, then no other teachers would either. It seemed Hermione was his only companion in this battle for answers, which annoyed Harry, as he had wanted to keep her safe and out of his dangerous affairs with Voldemort.

The great hall was now in view, and Ron had declared a cease-fire with Hermione, as Ron found it impossible to argue and eat at the same time, and food was the one thing he prioritised higher than bickering with Hermione.  

The students sat, and friendly chatter broke out, with Harry still being the topic of discussion.

Harry, Hermione and Ron took seats next to Fred and George, and started listening to the conversation.

"Any minute now"

"Bound to happen soon"

The twins were steering at Snape with a dangerous gleam in their eyes.

"Blast off!"

At that moment Snape chose to do just that. He flew to the roof at top speed, hovering above the students, with his legs frozen as they had been on the chair, making it look like he was sitting on an invisible chair, and giving him a scary squatting look. He then proceeded to spin in circles and do flips, with his legs still frozen, making everyone roar with laughter. Dumbledore muttered the counter charm, but this, if anything, made matters worse for Severus Snape, who came crashing to the ground from the 40-foot high ceiling. Madame Pomfrey soon arrived and removed him from his small crater in the ground, but it appeared Snape would have to go through the painful process of bone regrowth, which Harry knew the feeling of far too well. 

The twins were giving each other high-fives, and were discussing their prank animatedly. Harry discovered that the twins had overlooked the fact that there was a counter-curse, but they were happy that they had, as Snape was now far worse for wear than he would have been had the spell worn off slowly.

"How did that work?" Harry asked with interest, but his question would not be answered, as at the moment, a flutter of wings could be heard travelling through the entrance hall.

Suddenly, an eagle burst into the great hall, causing everyone to look up in surprise. The strange bird slowly flew up to the head table, and Professor Dumbledore put an arm out. The eagle, however, had no intention of landing on the arm, and proceeded to fly down the rows of students. At this point everyone had deemed it a stray bird that had accidentally found its way into the great hall. The magnificent bird continued to fly along each of the student tables. As it flew over Harry, however, it stopped, and everyone in the great hall will remember what happened at that moment, as it gently landed on his shoulder.

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Please keep reviewing, as it is what drives me to write faster. 


	7. Chapter 07 - A new destiny

**Harry Potter and the Pit of Time**

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

Okay, I said it would be 24 hours between updates, and it is. Its time for the crunch in this story, and many things are explained here! The plot thickens! All the questions plaguing your minds will be unfolded here – I just hope you like the answers. I can't keep everyone satisfied, but I think that the way I am going is going to make things a lot more interesting in the future. I have the next chapter currently under production, and that should be 2 days away. Please review this chapter, I really want feedback on it, as the story is taking its first turn, and its important that I don't loose the plot all of the sudden. I know there are many experienced authors out there who have written many of these before – I want your advice if you see something to be improved! I haven't written a fan fiction in any shape or form before this one.

**Chapter 7:**

Harry looked at the bird with a confused expression on his face. More attention was the last thing he needed, with all that had happened recently. Everyone present stared at the bird in curiosity, Harry included. Unbelievably, the bird seemed to be trying to communicate with Harry. The bird was staring into Harry's eyes, so Harry stared straight back, as he had been taught to do with magical creatures. A voice came over Harry's head, which felt intrusive, foreign.

("Follow")

Did the bird just say that? The bird flapped its wings. More to take the attention off himself than anything else, Harry stood, and decided to comply with the birds wishes.

"I'll be back in a minute," Harry said sheepishly to Ron and Hermione, before proceeding to head out the door with the bird perched on his shoulder. Questions were clogging his mind, but he felt calm, which seemed to be due to the overwhelming power he felt in his veins. He felt that whatever the threat, he could fight it if he wanted to. The Transfiguration class was still fresh in his mind, but he couldn't help but wonder: was he doing something foolish? 

As Harry reached the entrance hall, the bird leapt off his shoulder and proceeded to fly towards the 3rd floor corridor, which had been out of bounds in Harry's first year. This, however, was no time for a trip down memory lane, as he continued to pursue the bird toward fluffy's room. Thankfully, fluffy was no longer in residence.

The eagle then perched and sat on the trapdoor. Harry thought that it wanted him to open it, but he was shocked to find that the eagle was not all that it appeared to be, and where an eagle had been was now a tall man with blue eyes and a staff. His hair came down to his shoulders, and he had a long, grey beard. This gave him a sort of medieval look. 

"By Merlin's beard" Harry said, cursing quietly.

Surprisingly, the man looked at his beard, then back at Harry with a confused expression on his face. 

"What's wrong with my beard?" The man asked Harry, still looking rather confused.

Harry's eyes went wide at this revelation. He was face to face with history's most powerful wizard – whom had died years ago, hadn't he?

"But who – how – what?" Harry stuttered out, totally and utterly confused. 

"Let me explain myself. I am Merlin, and how I came to be here is a story that amuses even myself. What I need to explain to you will take a lot of time – which we do not have here."

Harry looked disappointed, thinking that he would not be told the story. He was still trying to work out if this was some sort of misguided joke, but after the key incident, he was either insane and imagining this as he had done with the key – or the key was real, and Merlin was right in front of him.

"So I will take you to a place where we have as much time as we need. Touch my staff."

Harry obeyed without hesitation. He had made the decision that fate would be fate, and this could be a very big opportunity – and may give him answers to the questions plaguing his mind. But he was very optimistic of Merlin knowing of a place where they would have 'all the time they needed'.

Suddenly, the landscape changed, and Harry was in the strangest place he had ever seen. It was a large room, which looked like the King's chambers of a castle, but at the same time had a dungeon feeling to it. Harry was shocked beyond words once again, and looked at Merlin with an asking expression, hoping that this person was not someone leading him to his doom.

Merlin gave him a reassuring look, however, and summoned some chairs.

"Well Harry, it appears I have a lot of explaining to do. Let me first tell you that this is the Pit of Time. This pit is what has managed to preserve me for so long, but I am very much dead, yet in many respects alive, but only powerful wizards can see me. How I avoided death is not important for the time being, and it is only temporary. Today I simply had to cast a bird illusion, but as my true self I am visible only to those powerful enough to view me."

"What? Well how can I see you then?" Harry interrupted.

"You are very strong Harry. Stronger than Dumbledore, but he can't see your power, so he doesn't realise it."

"Then why couldn't I see you today then?" Harry asked, disbelieving that he was stronger than Dumbledore

"Ahh, that was an ancient invisibility charm on my part." Merlin replied.

"Why is this place called the Pit of Time? And how come we have more time here than we would of in that room?" Harry said, launching into another round of questions.

"Time in here beats at 1 thousandth of a second ever real second. So, for every 1000 seconds that pass here, 1 second passes on earth. My reason for staying alive, hidden like this, will seem very odd. I am going to tell you a number of things that I want you to repeat to nobody, not a single soul."

Harry nodded dumbly, still struggling to digest what seemed to be impossible.

"I am, simply put, going to tell you how the heir loop works. It is important for you to understand this. Now, it works like this: When a wizard or witch dies, they automatically pass on their heirdom to their first-born child. Their heirdom however is actually extra powers or abilities, which is why we get powerful wizards, and not-as-powerful wizards. Now the odd thing is, that they not only pass on some of their own strength, but the strength that had in turn been given to them. Basically, when your father died you became the heir to all the people in your bloodline, and you have inherited power from each and every one of them. The thing is, people who are ghosts are people who do not have a heir to pass their heirdom down to. What they do is enter a ghost state, and chose someone to give their heirdom to, and then they leave the earth, and pass on like the others who had a blood relative alive."

Harry's head was spinning now, trying desperately to accept this overwhelming knowledge. 

"Now, the reason I chose not to die, and instead stay here, was because my power would have a negative effect on the power balance on earth. Whoever inherited my power would be so powerful that they could rule or even destroy the planet. I couldn't risk this extreme power falling into the hands of someone like Voldemort."

Harry was surprised that Merlin had heard of Voldemort. Merlin, seeing his surprise answered, "Yes, I have been out watching in my ghost form, and I am aware of the problems that face this world. It is because of this, that I have summoned you to an area that I expected to show to no one, and reveal secrets that I intended to destroy when I recently discovered a way of dying without handing on my powers.

"I have reconsidered terminating my powers, and have instead discovered a way of transferring my powers to another. I found a way of doing this through watching you when Voldemort gave you certain abilities of his accidentally because you deflected the curse that would of killed you. I will do something considerably different, which will allow me to transfer all my powers, and instead of my bloodline heir gaining my powers, I can chose a person instead, as I would be able to do if I had no living blood relative.

"It is on that note that I ask you, Harry Potter, if you would accept my heirdom and powers. If you do not, I will be forced to cast a rather strong memory charm on you to destroy your knowledge of this place, as it is too dangerous falling into the wrong hands. If you accept, I will train you to use my powers, and to apparate into this place. You will be the guardian of good, and will need to use it to protect the lives of others around you. I am so frail now, that even in this Pit I am almost passing on, since I am not truly a ghost, and have a heir alive. My physical appearance may not be changing, but mentally, I am growing far too old, and my magic outside of this Pit is far too limited to stop Voldemort myself. This is a huge burden to carry, but I have faith in you. I have been studying you carefully for many years, watching carefully to see if you are the rightful heir to my power. If the power landed in the hands of someone who abused it, it could be the end of the world. You are the only hope for the side of good in a war against evil, Harry. This burden will not be an easy one to carry. It will be a long and difficult path, and you will have to keep my power as I have kept it, passing it on only to someone you believe worthy, or destroying it completely, as I will teach you to do."

"Wow" was all Harry could say, and that about summed it up really. He was being asked to be the one and only heir to Merlin, and the guardian of good for as long as he lived. He was being told an amazing secret about the world, which could be repeated to no one. Harry had just one question on his mind.

"That… Power. Did you give it to me?"

Merlin smiled, before replying, "No, you gave it to yourself."

Harry was confused. "I did what? How?"

"The key was just that – a key that you imagined. What it did, however, was unlock the power that you were capable of – all the power that your ancestors handed down that you were not using – power that you would not accept was there, because you didn't want it to be there. You wanted to be normal. You will find yourself getting more and more powerful, over the next while. I cast a spell on you to make you believe the key was there, but your power of mind did the rest. It gave you what you needed most: belief and self-assurance."

Harry wasn't sure that he understood, but he nodded anyway.

Merlin then proceeded to ask the question that Harry thought was easiest to answer of them all "Will you accept, Harry?"

Without hesitation, Harry answered strongly "Yes", knowing that the inevitable battle was between himself and Voldemort, and he needed all the help he could get.

Merlin looked satisfied, as he had always expected Harry to accept.

"Good, well we will begin training 1 week from today. We will meet in the place we originally met today, and I will teach you to apparate here. I would rather that the training begin sooner, but I don't believe your power has built up enough yet for you to apparate here without my power".

Harry again nodded, and then asked a question that had been bugging him "Am I allowed to tell someone I really trust what I will be doing?"

 Merlin seemed thoughtful for a moment, before nodding his head. "You may, but you must not tell anyone that wouldn't believe you, or anyone that you wouldn't trust with your life. You may not tell anyone – no matter how trustable – about the reasons of ghosts. Those are secrets which should never be known by a mortal – yet I have made an exception for you."

Harry felt the enormity of the burden on his shoulder as they got the formalities out of the way, and the full effect of what he had to do hit him – he was the side of good's only hope against evil, and he would have to destroy Voldemort.

Hermione is never going to believe this, Harry thought to himself.

===================

Please keep reviewing! If I get plenty of reviews, I might even work hard at it and get the next chapter posted within 24 hours as well! I can only do that with your support though – so please give me your opinion!


	8. Chapter 08 - Let the training begin

**Harry Potter and the Pit of Time**

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

I apologise for taking a while with this, but it has come out faster than it normally does. I've just written 3 chapters for my new H/Hr fic called 'Fading Regrets'. I have posted Chapter 1, and I will post the other 2 chapters over the next few days. The fic starts with plenty of angst and despair, but don't worry, it turns out far nicer than it begins! I'm not sure how much romance will be in this fic, but unless people can convince me otherwise, but I will make those sort of decisions later. I have plenty of intentions for action in this fic – and your first glimpse isn't too far around the corner. Sirius' whereabouts will be answered in due time, and for those who may have missed it: Harry is going to be the one and only heir to Merlin – but he doesn't inherit his power until Merlin moves on, as he is semi-alive at the moment.

**Chapter 8:**

The first thing Harry did when he returned from the Pit of Time was search for Hermione. Harry wandered up to the Gryffindor common room, expecting that she would have finished dinner and headed there. When his eyes were greeted by an empty common room, he was forced to reconsider his earlier estimate, and headed down to the great hall to see what the hold-up was.

When he arrived, the scene was much the same as he had left it – in fact, dinner hadn't even started. Harry quickly crossed the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table, hoping not to draw attention to himself. It seemed that this was too much to ask, however, as students caught sight of him and in turn alerted those around them.

By the time he sat down, everyone was staring at him. They looked at him as though he had just walked out – but he had been with Merlin for at least an hour – surely the wild theories would have calmed down by now.

Then it struck him. Time with Merlin had been travelling at a thousandth of a second.

Harry had very few options but to sit and eat – leaving with Hermione would draw him more attention, and that was the last thing he wanted.

Ron unsuccessfully tried to engage Harry in conversation on many occasions, appealing to Hermione for support with an angry look on his face, but Hermione shook her head in refusal.

"Hermione, I need more help with my potions, or Snape will fail me, can we go to the library?" Harry said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the table.

Ron scrunched his face up in disgust, showing mock-terror at the prospect of studying with Hermione. 

Hermione had realised there was more to this question than met the eye, and new better than to turn the offer down. 

"Sure Harry," she said, standing to leave.

"Catch you later Ron" Harry said, also standing.

"Alright" Ron replied to the retreating figures of Harry and Hermione.

As the two of them reached the entrance hall, Hermione rounded on Harry.

"What happened Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"This is going to take a long time to explain…" Harry replied, heading towards the library at top speed.

Hermione caught up to him, and they talked as they walked.

"What is this all about? Have you found something out about the key?" Hermione asked.

"I found out about more than the key… a lot more." Harry said.

The library was in view, and Harry could see that Hermione was visibly tense.

They entered, and both sat at an unused table in an area that would give them some privacy.

"Alright, explain." Hermione said, sounding braver than she felt. 

So Harry told her everything Merlin had allowed him to tell her, skipping the bits about heirs and heir loops, but basically saying that Merlin was making him his one and only heir, and that the key had unlocked his true potential.

Hermione was thoughtful for a moment, as if weighing up what he had just told her.

Harry looked very nervous. He was still very surprised that she believed his story. He didn't believe himself sometimes.

She snapped out of her trance quickly though, and seemed to accept his additions to the already thickening plot.

"Its hard to believe a place like that exists! It's unheard of, even in the magical world!" Hermione remarked. She then launched into a procession of questions.

"Did it feel strange being in there?"

"No, it felt like it does here" Harry answered.

"What about your heart rate? Was it going slower?"

"Uhh, I didn't check…"

When Hermione was finally satisfied, some twenty questions later, the two headed to the Gryffindor common room.

Harry wanted nothing but a good night's sleep after the day's events, but, it seemed that the hero had to sit with his fans – and Harry found himself dodging questions about the bird, while being dive-boomed with the questions about Prison they had been waiting anxiously to ask since the Daily Prophet article had been published and Harry had returned to Hogwarts.

When Harry finally did get the chance to leave, he found he was the last to leave the common room, as Colin Creevy had kept him, wanting a slow-motion reply of what had happened with Voldemort.

Harry had contemplated standing and leaving, but the adoration and respect in their eyes was something he felt he had no choice but to accept. He hated the attention, but at the same time he reminded himself of what his fellow housemates needed – in these dark times, they needed someone to idolise, and he wasn't going to turn on them.

*******************

The next morning, it was business as usual for Harry. At breakfast the atmosphere seemed warm, and without being told, you would never have guessed that the dark lord had returned. Even those who had potions first with Snape were cheerful that morning, which had to be a Hogwarts record, in Harry's opinion.

It seemed that somehow he was at the heart of all this, a school hero, which he had no ambitions to be, but really had no say in the matter.

His spirits couldn't be dimmed by the extra attention, however, as he had Defence against the Dark Arts first period with Professor Lupin, a lesson he had been looking forward to since he discovered his favourite Professor was returning. 

The thought of Professor Lupin bought a weariful feeling to his heart, however, as he knew that Remus' fellow marauder Sirius Black was nowhere to be found. Harry had no idea how Sirius was doing, or even if he was alive. He decided that he needed to have a nice big chat with Professor Lupin sometime soon, and he definitely needed to see if he had provided enough evidence to get Sirius freed. 

As he rounded the corner he was face to face with non other than Draco Malfoy, his long-time rival at Hogwarts. If there was one person who had reason to be angry at the result of Harry's trial, it was Draco Malfoy. Harry's projection had proved Lucius Malfoy to be a death eater, and thus, with no escape, had been imprisoned with a trial pending.

Draco wore his usual sneer, but he didn't have his fathers influence on his side any longer. All the same, Crabbe and Goyle were beside him, probably still trying to work out what a trial was.

The trio walked past Malfoy, and entered the classroom.

The smiling face of Professor Remus Lupin greeted them. 

"Professor, welcome back! What made you reconsider?" Harry asked with interest, while shaking hand.

"Lets just say that teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts isn't my only reason for being back here."

Harry, Hermione and Ron all frowned at that, unsure of what to make of it. They couldn't think of any other reasons for him to return, but chose to drop it.

The lesson went well, and Harry didn't get such a shock when he cast a perfect shield around himself. No one appeared to notice, so Harry went about weakening his shield until it was no better than the rest of the class.

The lesson ended with Professor Lupin praising Harry for putting up such a great shield – but the only shield he saw was the sabotaged one Harry had put up.

The trio had Charms next, and again Harry had to do some sabotage on his part – this power he was getting was still very hard to control, and he was finding classes harder than normal because of the extra work that went into trying to weaken his magic. They were practicing levitation again – on a far higher degree. Harry didn't want to boast, but he had levitated himself to see if he could. Alas, he was hiding this from the class, and so, when Hermione managed to levitate a book, Professor Flitwick was ecstatic. 

Next was Care of Magical Creatures, and Hagrid was in a thumping good mood. It seemed that they would be allowed to play with the snakes today – which Harry was not looking forward to at all. The lesson didn't go as badly as he had thought – but he had no choice to listen to the snakes converse among themselves, and felt it to be a duty to point out their complaints to Hagrid.

The next day, Harry had his first division lesson. It appeared that Professor Trelawney's inner eye was working over time – because she was predicting Harry's death at record pace.

The lesson was not exactly boring – They were doing crystal gazing, and it appeared that the Professor saw Harry dying in all the crystal balls she looked in, and he appeared to be dying a different way every time. She said that this was simply because her inner eye was so well tuned, and that it was showing her the possibilities. Harry and Ron doubted this. 

Some time later in class, Ron was tapping his eye when suddenly he gave a false cry of joy before saying loudly 

"It's working! My inner eye is working! Wait… Now I've just got to get the right channel" Ron proceeded to tap his eye like he was tuning a radio. "Wow! Professor! I can see… No homework for the rest of the year" To make his prediction sound true, he also added "Oh, and Harry dies too".

Professor Trelawney appeared to have missed the sarcasm, for she ran to his side and said "How Child? How does he die?"

Ron was rather startled at having to continue with his false prediction, and so he closed his eye, and proceeded to tap his eye.

"Uhh! I can't find the station anymore," He said with mock-anger, as though his radio had just broken.

Professor Trelawney looked disappointed, while Harry was on the ground trying so hard to fight the laughter that tears were coming out of his eyes. Professor Trelawney, not realising that he was trying to hold back laughter, thought that Harry was crying, and asked Ron to take him back to Gryffindor tower. The rest of the class hadn't been so stupid, and knew that he had been trying to laugh. As the two left triumphantly, Lavander and Pavati glared at them, while the rest of the class gave envious looks.

Harry and Ron almost bounced the entire way back to Gryffindor tower – it wasn't every day you got to leave early.

*******************

It seemed that Harry's next surprise would come shortly after dinner, when he entered the common room. When he entered, Harry was meet by Professor McGonagall, wearing a slightly softer-than-usual stern face. Behind her, the rest of the Quidditch team had assembled, and they were all smiling happily, with that 'I know something you don't know' look. Basically, they looked like Hermione did on a normal day.

"Ahh, Mr Potter, just the person we were waiting for." Harry then realised that the whole of Gryffindor house was assembled in the common room. He raised an eyebrow quizzically at Fred and George, and they both grinned in reply.

What this meant, Harry didn't know.

"I would like to thank the Gryffindor Quidditch team for their votes, and I'm sure the whole house will be happy with our mutual decision". This answered the questions – they were naming the captain! Harry understood why his presence was required – he was on the team after all.

"I would like to proudly announce that Harry Potter is to be your captain!" She said this with a slight smile, which caused Harry to loose his balance – he had always believed McGonagall incapable of smiling.

Harry found himself shaking hands with each and every member of Gryffindor house, who were all looking forward to the prospect of winning the Quidditch cup. Harry knew he had Wood's legacy to live up to, but after Merlin, he could take almost anything in his stride.

*******************

With the duties of a prefect and a Quidditch captain hung over his shoulder, not to mention the rather large piles of homework his teachers seemed to deem necessary for his OWLs, Harry was a very busy person. Before long, Harry had to visit Merlin once again. Harry had slept very little lately, his homework took up his entire evening, and then he plotted Quidditch strategy late into the night. He was determined on not letting his housemates down, especially with so much respect and support coming from all of them.

Harry knew that while Merlin may be able to provide him with an unlimited amount of time, he was not able to provide him with an unlimited amount of sleep.

It had been one of Harry's many questions when he met Merlin, and he had been told that it was impossible to sleep there – his biological cloak which would take over when he slept would not be able to handle it, so the only way he could rest would be to be awake, or unconscious. Neither of those helped him catch up on sleep. 

Harry waited patiently on the trapdoor as he had been instructed to do, and allowed his thoughts to wander. He was not in the least bit nervous, and very composed.

Merlin soon arrived, and they begun.

"Now Harry, this will seem very difficult. You are going to have to learn to apparate in the Pit of Time, because once I pass my powers onto you, I will not be able to leave there, except to pass on like all ghosts do. The problem is, that you will have to learn to do it without using my power, since I need to be here to instruct you.

Harry's face fell. Merlin, however, still looked rather happy.

"Not to worry, you have had many strong wizards in your family. I trust you've heard of Godric Gryffindor?" Merlin asked.

Harry nodded vigorously.

"You're a direct descendent of his. There are many other powerful wizards, but I doubt you've heard of many of them. Now where was I? Yes, now apparating… Its really quite simply, to apparate from one place to another is easy, but to get to somewhere like the Pit of Time is damned near impossible. I'll take you into Hogsmeade so that we can practice simple apparation first."

Harry touched his staff, and they both appeared in a forestry area on the edge of Hogsmeade.

"Now Harry, what I want you to do is picture yourself looking exactly like you do now in somewhere around here that you know well."

Harry pictured himself standing outside the Three Broomsticks, he pictured the pavement bellow his feet, and imagined the cobbled building in front of him.

Without much thought, he was no long with Merlin, and was instead stranding in front of the Three Broomsticks. Merlin soon appeared.

"Well done Harry." He saw Harry looked uneasily at him, "Don't worry, they can't hear me either. Only you can do that."

Harry visibly relaxed, before apparating back to where he had been originally. Merlin followed.

"Now Harry, what I'm going to teach you is going to be considerably harder. To apparate into the Pit of Time you can't just imagine yourself standing in the pit – you have to fish for the right spot with your mind. The problem is, that like Hogwarts, it's said to be impossible to apparate there. It actually is possible, but it is considered impossible to do. You see, Hogwarts cannot be plotted on a map – simply because, it the plot able area has been shrunken to basically nothing. So, if something can't be plotted, it means that you don't truly know where you are, and thus, can't apparate there. So, in order to apparate there, you would need to know the very strand of air that the plot able area of Hogwarts resides in – for Hogwarts is a physical place, all magic can do is shrink the area that is plot able – and the founders were able to shrink it to the size of an air molecule."

"Wait – so yours saying that I have to apparate into an area that could only be seen by a microscope?" Harry asked with disbelief. 

Merlin nodded. Harry's face fell.

"The thing is Harry – I think it will be extremely easy for you to do."

Harry jerked his head up, and looked at the older wizard like he was insane.

"You see – your mind is a very powerful thing. You need to reach out, and probe with it. With the power that has been handed down to you by many great wizards, you should be able to find that molecule and enter it. As long as you believe it exists, and put your mind to it – you will find it."

Harry wanted to believe him, but it just sounded far too crazy. It was like saying Snape was a kind, compassionate Professor.

"Well how can I apparate into different parts of Hogwarts? Will I land in the same place every time I apparate there?"

"No, you will have to imagine the place you want to go within the tiny air molecule – like I said, the plot able area has simply been shrunken, but inside it the whole of Hogwarts lies."

Harry set his mind to one thing – finding a tiny strand of air. He channelled his magic out of his body and begun to search the area all around Hogwarts, looking ferociously. Suddenly, after about 10 minutes of concentration, Harry disappeared, and reappeared on top the astronomy tower. Merlin took only moments to follow.

"Uhh-ohh" Harry muttered, looking over the edge at the rather deep drop that would await him, should he choose to fall off.

"Harry, you might want to focus on the place you want to go this time. Try again, you should slowly getting faster now that you subconsciously know where to look."

So Harry tried again, and tried to look for the 3rd floor corridor inside of the tiny air molecule.

After about 5 minutes he was where he wanted to be – sitting by the trapdoor, exactly as he had imagined, on the 3rd floor corridor, unfortunately, though, he was exhausted. Concentration was generally something foreign to most teenage males, and he had just done a lot of it.

"Well done Harry – your making amazing progress – just be make sure you don't forget to imagine yourself in the place you want to apparate to… You may find yourself splinched if you don't. Harry nodded his head grimly at this. He had been trying rather hard to forget about that.

There was a question on Harry's mind that he was curious about. He decided now was a good time to voice this question.

"How is it that you could apparate to exactly the same place that I was in? I mean I didn't exactly tell you where I was going?"

"Easily, Harry. Your using your mind to find the place in Hogwarts that you can apparate into – I'm using my mind to find the whereabouts of you."

This was all extremely confusing, but Harry felt that he sort of understood.

"Well I'm afraid that the Pit of Time is a lot harder to find than Hogwarts Harry. You have to probe with your mind very carefully. It's amazing how powerful our minds are – they can discover something, and remember it, even though we don't realise it. Subconsciously your mind knows roughly where to look to apparate into Hogwarts, and soon it will become second nature. In every spare moment that you have Harry, I want you to let your mind wander, and search for the Pit of Time. You know what it looks like, that's all you need to know. Practice apparating around Hogwarts – that will help train your mind to searching. Until you can apparate into the Pit of Time, we cannot begin your more serious training."

And so, Harry Potter's training to bring the downfall of the greatest dark wizard of all time had begun.

===================

Review! I need your opinions! I would like to see if anyone can guess what happens next ;) – If anyone wants me to review their fic, please mention, in a review, that you have written a fic, and I will come and read it!


	9. Chapter 09 - The Strange meeting

**Harry Potter and the Pit of Time**

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

To those people who write a fic of their own: When you review, mention that you are writing a fic of your own, and I will come and read it. I will also review it. I love reading other people's fanfics as much as I enjoy writing my own, so please, in your review, do mention that you are writing a fic!

Just to answer back to a reviewer:

_Smegul Writes:_ "Seems suspiciously similar to the psychic serpent which i noticed you have in your favourite story section and the title pit of time seems like it might have a similar theme to time of good intentions the serpent sequel"

I read Psychic Serpent a long time ago, and I can't even remember the plot, but I remember Harry getting a Snake? Well, in my fic there wont be any snakes... I don't see ANY similarities between my fic and the Serpent trilogy. Secondly, you say that the name of this fic suggests that I have a similar theme to 'the time of good intentions'? No offence to Barb, but I stopped reading TOGI after a few chapters. But as I understand it, in TOGI they travel back in time? That will NOT happen in this fic. You will notice that the Pit of Time slows down time. It does NOT reverse it, or even stop it. 

Thankyou to everyone that has reviewed this fic! Your words of encouragement are priceless. I have exams in 6 weeks, and I am working very hard to try and complete this fic before those exams arrive. Without your support, I don't stand a chance of meeting my deadline.

Question: Do people rather the new format I have given the chapters? The text is smaller now, because I am uploading it as HTML instead of as a word document. This means that I can now put words in bold or italics. I was wondering what people's opinions were. Did you rather the text larger? Or is the new way okay?

**Chapter 9:**

A few weeks after learning to apparate around Hogwarts, Harry still hadn't had any luck. He was now able to apparate around Hogwarts without a second thought, but he was having no luck in finding the Pit of Time.

He pushed these thoughts out of his mind, however, as he sat at Gryffindor table, preparing himself for the day ahead. Quidditch trials were that very day, and the team needed a new keeper – which he would be choosing.

If Ron was anything to go by, the keeper was not going to be very talented this year, which worried Harry immensely – the keeper was, after the seeker, the most important position on the field. 

Still, Harry knew that he had to have hope – sometimes the best players can be whom you least suspect – he himself had been a good example of that in his first year. Fred and George seemed to choose that moment to enter the Great hall, with their usual smiles plastered on their faces, but Harry could see that even they were worried about who the new keeper would be. They quickly made their way over to Gryffindor table.

"Morning Harry!" The twins greeted in unison.

"Good morning" Harry replied, worry written all over his face.

"Don't worry, there's sure to be a good player somewhere," Said Fred knowingly, in a hushed voice so that the people around them couldn't hear.

"Or else we will just have to train someone into a talented player!" encouraged George, obviously not being as optimistic as Fred.

Harry chuckled, "I'm sure having you two pelt bludgers at them will make them talented… or kill them."

Fred and George had an evil glint in their eye. Everyone at Gryffindor table had caught Harry's last comment, and those that were going to the keeper trials suddenly had another anxiety attack.

Ron, who was sitting by himself and staring off into space, looked like he might die if he didn't get to the quidditch pitch soon.

Hermione had been sitting next to Harry and was listening to the conversation with interest. She wasn't going for the keeper position, and Harry trusted her to keep the conversation to herself, so he didn't bother excluding her from the conversation. She had already noticed the lack of talented keepers in Gryffindor, as they had walked around the field in the evenings now and then watching people train for the trials.

"It just means you have to change your tactics." She remarked.

"Huh?" The twins, and Harry all said at the same time.

"Simple, really. It means that people will have to be more defensive to help the keeper out. Wood was good enough to let the chasers stick to offence only, and let you concentrate on finding the snitch, Harry."

Harry looked thoughtful. "I hope it doesn't come to that, but thanks, Hermione."

They were unable to continue their conversation, however, as a flapping of wings could be heard, as the mail arrived. 

Harry looked through the sea of owls that were swooping across the hall, plummeting packages and letters towards their respective targets. Harry was most surprised to discover that Hedwig was amongst the owls, and was heading right for him, carrying a letter that was strapped to her leg.

Hedwig landed on his shoulder and cleaned up his breakfast plate, before letting him remove the letter.

Harry glanced over the letter quickly. Written on very elegant parchment with emerald green ink, the letter read:

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_Your presence in requested in my office tonight at 8 p.m._

_Albus Dumbledore_

The letter was rather simple, and, typical of Dumbledore, it didn't explain why he was wanted. Harry looked towards the teachers' table to see Dumbledore looking right back at him. Dumbledore gave a slight nod to Harry, as if to confirm that the letter is legible.

Breakfast soon ended, and Harry had more to worry about than ever before – why did Dumbledore need to see him that evening so much? After the conversation they had in the hospital wing, Dumbledore had looked at Harry like he was insane. Could he be about to admit him into St. Mungos? 

Harry decided that it wasn't worth dwelling on the future, and so he got up, and begun his march towards the quidditch field. He had his usual Gryffindor quidditch robes on, as did the rest of the team. As he crossed the marvellous green quidditch field he thought of all the times he had flown on this field. From his first time flying, to his half-asleep practices with Wood, to the stunning games he had played in front of every student at Hogwarts. Winning the quidditch cup hung out in his mind as a highlight. The feeling of flying made Harry feel free, and allowed him to escape from the pressured that mounted themselves on him every year – just as they already had this year. 

They were going to run the trials very simply: each person that trials must defend the goals while Alicia, Katie and Angelina took shots at them. For some realism Fred and George were going to be hitting a bludger around as well, which the keeper needed to keep and eye on, as it would target any of the players in the air. 

Harry sat on the ground taking notes and watched very carefully. Hermione was there with him, making the odd comment now and then, which Harry would note down if he thought that it was necessary.

By the end of the trial, the most goals that had been stopped were 6 out of 15. The quidditch team members were all sharing sideways glances. Seamus Finnigan had been the player to get the most goals. Although he didn't show a great deal of skill, the team all saw, or told themselves that they saw, some potential in him.

The trials hadn't been particularly bad, but then again they didn't go particularly well either. Harry decided then and there that Hermione was right – they would need to change their tactics to accommodate for their weakness.

Everyone had left by now except the rest of the team, Harry and Hermione. They all set out for Gryffindor tower together, talking about how they could change the tactics to accommodate for their lack of skill in the keeper department. By the time they got there, Fred had suggested that they just tie the keeper in front of one goal, and two of the chasers in front of each of the other goals. The chasers obviously hadn't approved. Harry was dreading having to break the news to Ron that he hadn't made it.

The entered the common room and walked in to find Gryffindor house waiting patiently for them in the common room. Everyone sat calmly, talking with his or her friends. There had been plenty of people who wanted to be on the Gryffindor house team – especially after it's success in recent years.

Harry immediately took charge, "The trials went well – I would like to thank all of you that attempted to make the team. Our skilled chasers made it particularly hard for anyone trying to make the team, but remember that these chasers have been the best chasers in the school for the past four years."

Everyone gave a roar of approval, and the chasers all blushed.

"I would like to proudly announce Semus Finnigan as the Gryffindor house Keeper!"

Amidst plenty of applause, Semus made his way out front, where Harry presented him with his golden Gryffindor robes. It was around about a student's fifth year when people generally make the house team, but since Harry's first year, this was the first time that they had ever needed to appoint someone on the team.

Semus looked nervous, as anyone would be. He was, after all, joining a combination that had been together for four years, and he couldn't help but feel like the odd one out.

Semus and the rest of the quidditch team separated away from the house and got into a conversation about the coming season.

"We'll, after my formal announcement, I'd like to say that the formalities stop there. We are all equals on this team, and we all encourage each other in an equal fashion." Harry said with a small nod towards Seamus. 

"I'm glad that now I have someone my own age on the team" Harry said with a grin, looking evilly at the older members of the team.

"I'm senior to all of them except Fred and George" he continued.

"Only by a few weeks!" The girls screeched in unison.

"I was put on the team a week before the trials, Fred and George got on the team at the end of the year before I came," Harry explained to Seamus, who was looking a little more than slightly confused, and very shocked at how friendly and playful the team environment was – he had clearly been expecting a far more professional attitude, but the friendliness put him at ease.

Harry glanced at his watch – They had all missed lunch, and dinner was steadily arriving.

"We all missed lunch, so I suggest that we make sure we don't miss dinner," He said, ushering them down to dinner.

He went and got Ron and Hermione, and they all headed down.

"You make a good quidditch captain Harry," Ron observed.

Harry arched his eyebrows, wondering what had bought this on, "What makes you say that?"

"We'll, I was a little bit disappointed that I didn't make the team, but after talking it over with someone…" He looked at Hermione, but Harry didn't notice, "…I was convinced that you were a better captain by not choosing me, because it showed that you were fair."

Harry was still extremely confused at the way Ron was acting – he had been dreading Ron's reaction since he first saw Ron practicing – he had been almost sure that Ron wouldn't make it then, and he thought that Ron would stop talking to him for weeks, as he had the year before.

He looked at Hermione as if to ask 'whats going on', but she just smiled and shook her head.

They finally arrived at the great hall, and Harry walked in with all eyes on him once again. He was getting used to all the attention, and had learnt to ignore it after a while. He had, inevitably, accepted it as a part of his life from now on.

He quickly took his place at Gryffindor table. He was reminded of his meeting that night as he sensed someone's eyes on him from the teachers' table. Turning, he saw that Dumbledore was looking at him, his eyes searching, as if he was evaluating a decision.

Harry's thoughts begun to wander again, and he tried to work out what Dumbledore wanted with him. He doubted that he would have been made quidditch captain if the school had been planning to admit him to a mental institute, but then again, why else would he go to see the headmaster? He hoped it was a social visit, but in the times of Voldemort, social visits were very uncommon.

After dinner, Harry went up to the common room with Ron and Hermione and used the time he had to complete his homework – he had classes tomorrow, and Potions just happened to be one of them. No matter how much he tried, however, he couldn't keep his thoughts on task, as his mind kept wandering to the meeting that was steadily approaching. He had a sense of impending doom, and he just hoped that he was being paranoid.

He had feared very few things in his life, but this meeting was something that he feared.

Time felt like it was ticking at an accelerated rate, a feeling which he knew all too well – the last day of his trial being an experience which was all too fresh in his mind.

With ten minutes left, he walked up to his dormitory and picked the invisibility cloak up. He placed it over himself, and made the decision to apparate to the statue in front of Dumbledore's office.

He now had the problem of getting past the statue. He took a wild guess or two ("rock cakes"), before waving his wand threateningly at the statue.

Harry then did something that he had been practicing, and made a lot of sense. He used his mind to find the password.

"Canary Cream?" He said, asking it as a question as the words had randomly popped into his mind.

The gargoyle statue stepped out of the way immediately, and allowed Harry entry.

"Hacking the password to your headmaster's office is bound to be illegal" Harry muttered to himself as he walked up the staircase. He froze when he heard voices.

"It will be good to hear what young Harry has to say about that…" A very familiar voice said.

"Why don't you ask him then? He is outside the door now," drawled another, which Harry couldn't misplace if he tried: It was Professor Moody.

Harry walked sheepishly in the office with about thirty pairs of eyes on him. He felt like he was in front of a war council. Dumbledore looked rather startled that he had got past his statue without much trouble.

"You need to make your passwords less predictable" Harry said nervously, causing people in the room to chuckle. 

"That you for that advice, Harry. Now I'm sure your wondering why I summoned you to my office?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry couldn't bring himself to say anything – it felt like judgement day. He just nodded.

"We'll, I have invited you to a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix." Dumbledore stated simply, motioning to the people sitting around the big table.

Harry looked at him sheepishly, knowing that he was supposed to know what the Order of the Phoenix was.

Another voice came to his rescue – a voice he had been longing to hear for a long time. "We're an anti-Voldemort organization," said a very rough looking Sirius Black, who was leaving his seat to great Harry.

Harry ran to him and hugged him – he had been thinking the worst – which was that Sirius was dead, but he had been too nervous to come to Dumbledore after what had happened in the Hospital wing, and he kept telling himself that Sirius was perfectly fine.

Someone Harry didn't want to hear snickered. It appeared that Snape was also a member.

Harry studied the faces for a moment. There were many faces that were familiar, and many others he did not know. All of the Hogwarts professors with the exception of Professor Trelawney were present, not to mention Molly, Arthur, Bill and Charlie Weasley. Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he realised who else was present – Arabella figgs, the muggle that had lived down the road with all the cats, was present. 

"I believe you have met many of these people Harry – these are the core members of the order which I lead against Voldemort. Over the summer we met in secret, but thanks to you we are no longer branded as a 'terrorist organization' by the ministry." Everyone gave Harry an appreciative nod, even Snape, though you could barely make it out.

It was then that Harry then became aware of something perched on his shoulder – Falkes to be exact. The phoenix looked happy to be sitting on Harry's shoulder, and Harry was grateful that it was there: it made him feel like a part of the group.

Sirius ushered Harry into a chair next to his own, which he appeared to have been saving for him. 

Dumbledore begun speaking again, "Since you have helped us, Harry, I felt it only fair to tell you of Voldemort's activity." Everyone in the room except for Harry and Dumbledore flinched at the name.  "So far, he has done nothing, but we have intelligence that he is planning a series of spot attacks to run the muggle and wizarding worlds ragged. We are putting together a counter-offensive group."

Harry nodded. He had one question that he really wanted to get off his chest. "Can I join the order?" He asked carefully, knowing that he would be a bigger asset to the order than they realise.

Dumbledore looked grave. "No Harry. It is for the best that we keep you safe. You will some day prove to be a very powerful wizard. If you die before that day all hope could be lost."

Harry was fuming. He knew that he could help them out, but he couldn't tell them about his power – Dumbledore simply wouldn't believe him. He sat there, his eyes searching each person carefully.

"You may find, that even though I do not fight the war with you, I am still fighting the war." Harry said calmly, in a non-threaten, matter-of-fact tone. 

Dumbledore and the others looked confused, but they seemed to interpret it differently to the way he had intended it. Dumbledore nodded. "The intelligence we could get through your dreams will be a real asset to this order. Have you had any over the summer Harry?"

Shaking his head, Harry replied "None at all, or if I did, then I can't remember them. Too many nightmares."

He received many sympathetic looks at his last comment, but chose to ignore them. He was still very disappointed at not being able to join the order, especially since he knew how beneficial he would be if he did.

"So what intelligence have you got on Voldemort?" Harry asked in a businesslike manner, still trying to prove that he would be capable in the Order.

"Not a lot." Dumbledore replied, before elaborating, "Sirius has been doing some spying, but he hasn't got much. Wormtail is very much aware of his dog animagi. We have discovered a number of the attacks that he has planned, but we have no actual dates. We just know of the various attack codes that the Death Eaters are using, and we are in the process of decoding them now."

Harry nodded. The meeting progressed in a boring-like fashion, where Harry discovered that Hagrid was corresponding with the giants, Snape had failed in his attempts to rejoin the death eaters as a spy (which Sirius had happily snickered at) and that Arthur was in the running for the next minister of magic – and there was a vote coming up over that issue. He discovered that although it had not been announced yet, Fudge was going to be forced to resign.

As Harry left the meeting, some time later, he couldn't help but grin – if Arthur Weasley was the new minister of magic, Sirius was sure to be pardoned.

===================

Please leave comments. I REALLY want your opinions, it makes me a better author!

Chapter 10 WILL be posted in 24 hours.


	10. Chapter 10 - Halloween

_Harry Potter and the Pit of Time_

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

Apology: To those people who took my message at the bottom of last chapter to heart, I am very sorry. I had no intention of actually delaying this chapter, it was just my attempt to get the people to review that didn't like the fic. People will wonder why I want negative reviews, and the answer is simple: I want to know WHY people don't like it, so that I can improve it. Because of my little message, I got a few good reviews that help me a LOT with my writing. I promise never to pull a stunt like that. Infact, I'm going to try and publish a chapter EVERY day. And for my meanness, I am going to try and publish the next chapter in 24 hours.

Thanks to the following for suggestions. I intend on taking all of them to heart, and improving because of them: Piri, Lunarian, ADJ, Nell [The prank in this chapter is dedicated to you – sorry if its not very good, its my first attempt at humour. I rewrote this a few moments ago!], HarryNZ [Don't make me get NAPPA on to you] and Puddles. In future I also intend on posting replies to any questions that people ask. I will post the replies at the bottom of each chapter. Do not hesitate to ask a question if you don't understand something. If I don't answer something, it is because you are not meant to know yet. ;)

Also, everyone telling me what his or her 'favourite parts' were was actually very helpful. In future I will write more into the fic like the parts that are popular. For example, I might let Harry go back to the courtroom as a witness in the future if people liked the court cases ;)

**Chapter 10:**

Before Harry knew it, Halloween had arrived, and the winter chill was beginning to set it. Snow was still a fair way off, but the air seemed colder, and the quidditch practices became harder and harder to enjoy waking up to. Still, Harry found that as soon as you became the captain, you all of the sudden gained huge enthusiasm for practice, and Harry found himself drilling the team almost as hard as Wood did – almost, because it was physically impossible to practice any harder than the standards Wood set.

Still, the team had a renewed enthusiasm, and it was clear that they needed to make some severe tactical adjustments if they were to win the coming match against Hufflepuff. Semus was showing some promise, but the chasers didn't have too much trouble scoring against him. This worried Harry, and so he ended up drilling the team harder – causing the chasers to improve, and do even better against a struggling Semus. This discouraged Semus even more, and made Harry train them harder once again.

Harry had ended up changing tactics around somewhat, so that he, as a player, did some work which he called 'defensive'. It basically meant dummy running at the oncoming opposition, and causing them to flee in all directions. This disrupted their play, and allowed the chasers to get extract the quaffle. 

With all the time that he was setting aside for quidditch practice, Harry found himself with very little time to himself. So, he had taken to searching for the Pit of Time while in the middle of class. He was getting more powerful by the day, and found that he hardly needed to listen in class – he could do what was required of him without much effort at all. He just hoped that when he actually managed to apparate into the Pit, he could apparate back into exactly the same spot without anyone noticing him leaving.

On this particular Halloween evening, before the Halloween feast, Ron is consulting Harry on advice. Unfortunately for Ron, the topic was one that Harry did not specialise in. In all truths, he knew nothing about it. Girls.

"Come on Ron. It can't be that hard. Just walk up to her and tell her how you feel," Harry was saying, as though it was the easiest thing in the world.

"It's harder than that!" Ron replied, sounding exasperated, "What if she laughs at me?"

"Look, its not hard. I'll walk up to her and ask if it makes you feel any better," said Harry, laughing at the look of terror that crossed Ron's face.

"You wouldn't! She's mine!"

"Uh-Uh. Not until you ask her. She is free at the moment. What if Semus was to ask her first?" This bought Ron to his feet. 

"Okay, I get your point Harry. I'll… Ask her at the feast!" He said, trying to sound brave. His face betrayed his voice, however, as he looked terrified.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say Voldemort is right behind me." Harry said, turning around to look just to make sure.

"Very funny, Harry. It's not as easy to say as you think."

"Ohh, sure it is! I see three steps to it. Say it. Wait for their response. Accept the slap." He said this while counting off the steps on his hand. 

"A slap? No girls would slap you. They would be all over you." 

"Ohh yeah? If I tried it on Hermione I bet I'd get a slap." Harry said with a grin.

Ron seemed to gulp. "What would Hermione slap you?"

"Because I'm her friend." Harry said simply.

"I don't see the logic to that…"

"Neither. Anyway, it seems Hermione-like."

"You don't think that she will slap me, do you?" Ron asked in a small voice.

"Ohh, Probably…" Harry said, then realised that he had said the wrong thing to say, "She would only slap you if she thought you were teasing her though. So make sure she knows your serious, then it will be okay. You guys are meant for each other. Opposites err, attract?"

"They do?" Ron said, looking hopeful.

"Well, I think so muggle said that anyway…" Harry trailed off, scratching his head and wondering if he had made that up or not.

"You've just got to remember to not jumble up the words. Say it carefully."

"Say what carefully?"

"We'll you have to say more than 'Will you go out with me?' You have to convince her, make her remember your feelings."

"What am I gunna say then?"

Harry was thoughtful. He had never had to ask a girl out before, so he didn't really know what to say. He knew it wasn't a marriage proposal, but it was still a serious affair, especially for the girls.   
"Uhh… We'll, just say… stuff. Like, what you feel for her. You can tell her that she is pretty, beautiful, intelligent, friendly, kind…" He caught himself before he listed more. Ron looked at him in surprise.

"Where did you think of all that stuff?" Ron asked.

Harry didn't exactly want to say that it had come from the heart. He wasn't sure that it had anyway. He was just listing some of Hermione's traits off the top of his head – he didn't think about them. They just… came to him.

"I read them in a book. Girls love to hear that stuff." He replied simply. When he thought about it, that's probably where he heard it anyway. Harry glanced at his watch before muttering, "Well, Romeo, we had better get down to the feast. Its about to start, and your girl awaits."

He gave Ron a pat on the back in support, and wished him luck. He believed that his two best friends would make a wonderful couple, and he would support them both along the way. They were, as far as he was concerned, the perfect couple, and he felt that they deserved each other.

As they walked around Hogwarts castle, Harry could hear Ron muttering himself, while breathing deeply. Harry didn't think he had ever been as nervous as Ron was, and yet he had faced Voldemort a number of times. Surely, asking a girl out on a date was hardly fighting a duel with Voldemort? Harry couldn't help but laugh at the thought of asking Voldemort out to a dinner date – he had taken a new view on Voldemort since he met Merlin. He now thought of Voldemort as an equal. In perfect truth, Harry would probably end up more powerful than Voldemort in the end – if he lived that long.

His laughter earned him an angry sideways glare curtesy of Ron, who obviously thought Harry was laughing at him. 

Harry bit his lip as they entered the great hall – Ron was trying to remember his lines, and it got to the point where Ron was telling himself to breathe.

"Ron, calm down. It's nothing. If you love her, it will all come from the heart." Harry soothed. Ron fidgeted with his hands, but did not reply.

Harry pushed open the great hall. He would have looked graceful as he walked, had it not been for him having to stop every few steps to give Ron a tap on the back to remind him to keep moving his legs.

When they finally did reach the table, Ron sat calmly and stared off into space. Harry waved a hand in front of his face, but Ron appeared to be off with the fairies at the moment.

Hermione looked up from her book at Ron, before raising an eyebrow at Harry, as if to ask, "What the hell is up with him?"

Harry shrugged in response. Ron might be beyond nervous now. He was reaching a new level.

Suddenly, Ron snapped out of his trance, and joined the conversation. His eyes always seemed to skip past Hermione whenever he looked in her direction. This was a side of Ron Harry had never seen before. Hormones really had some odd effects…

Harry was about to try and break the uncomfortable silence, when Dumbledore did it for him.

"Students, welcome to this Halloween feast! I have two words for you. Tuck in."

He clapped his hands, and food suddenly filled the tables, followed by eager hands refuelling their energy supplies.

Unfortunately, when Dumbledore stopped talking, that same uneasy silence fell, and Ron stayed his usual, paralysed self, looking that was not attached to Hermione.

The problem that Harry was faced with was that he had different things to talk to each of them about. To Ron, it was quidditch; to Hermione it was Merlin, and any issues that he wasn't allowed to talk to Ron about. Since last year Harry never felt completely at ease with talking to Ron, because of his lack of faith in him. He chose the coming Gryffindor quidditch match.

"What do you think we should do about our problem with our inexperienced keeper?" Harry asked, his question cutting through the dead silence like a knife.

Both Hermione and Ron looked at him in surprise. They had both discussed this with him before. He felt like an idiot. Harry would rather an argument than silence, and he knew that all he had to do was play his cards right to start one.

"Like I said," Hermione begun, "You just need to have players defending more. You don't have Oliver Wood to defend, so you can't play quidditch like the professionals do – you have to play with a strong defence."

Ron had usually disagreed with this angle, but to Harry's disappointment, he conceded the point. 

"Yeah, defence."

Hermione appeared to be as shocked as Harry was. It felt like being in a malfunctioning nuclear power plant – if Ron didn't get the question out soon, he wasn't going to leave the room sane.

Harry needed to lighten the mood up, but how, he wasn't sure. He thought hard. What would interest everyone? Playing a prank of Fred and George? Now there's an idea…

Harry thought hard. He needed something that reflecting on them, and yet would lighten the mood. He decided on transfiguring them with his power… He just needed to decide on what would best suit.

Parrots? Boring. Singer? Boring… Wait? Britney Spears? And modifying the words… he couldn't miss out on this opportunity.

He concentrated hard on Fred and George, who were sitting across from the hall in a twin-huddle, something that was very typical of them. They seemed to be planning a prank of their own.

Where Fred had been, stood Britney Spears, next to him/her, stood a duplicate. Suddenly, the two Britney Spears' were no long sitting on chairs, but were now sitting on broomsticks.

The broomsticks proceeded to take off in perfect alignment, and fly high above the hall, swishing around the room. The funny thing though, was when Harry managed to manipulate them somewhat: They begun to sing an original song, that was a Hogwarts hit immediately, 'Hit me Snapey one more time'

The poor twins were totally helpless. Snape's face looked so dangerous that someone might confuse him for Voldemort himself. His eyes menacingly followed the twins as they buzzed around him in harmonious circles, dancing to a routine. Harry even transfigured his quill into glitter, which he apparated into the twins' hands. With the glitter sprinkling down on Snape's head, and the singing (which the more bold students had begun to sing as well), was hilarious. Dumbledore seemed to be enjoying the show as well, he seemed to accept the obvious reason: Fred and George had accidentally tested one of their own sweets.

Harry was tempted to transfigure Snape into a singer as well, but he decided that it would not be a good idea. He had already broken a school rule by transfiguring another student, but everyone would just presume it was one of the twins' inventions that they had accidentally tried out. If Snape should happen to change, then it would become obvious that someone had transfigured them.

Harry decided to wrap it up, and so the twins, after each kissing Snape on the cheek, flew back to their place at the table. Suddenly, their chairs had returned, and the twins were sitting on them once again. They looked, to say the least, very shocked.

Snape looked, well, furious. You could see his veins starting to show up on his face, and they looked like they were about to pop. He knew that there was no way he could prove that the twins acted of their own accord.

After a moment, Snape came and took the twins with him, leaving for the dungeons. Before the night was over, Harry was sure that they would have been through many truth potions.

Ron looked a lot calmer, and Hermione was looking at Harry very accusingly.

After some time talking about the joke, in which Ron speculated wildly on how the 'twins' joke backfired', while Hermione just looked at Harry with accusation, and calmly said that 'maybe someone else did it.'

When the conversation concluded, Harry knew he was beginning to loose Ron again. After a nudge on the shoulder, a prod in the chest and Harry opening and closing his mouth, pretending to talk, it got through to Ron: He needed to ask Hermione now.

Ron roughly cleared his throat, which got Hermione's attention.

"Hermione… You've… you've been my f-f-friend for a w-while now… I w-was w-wondering if-if you would go out w-with m-me?" Ron asked, fidgeting, shaking, and averting his gaze from Hermione. Hermione's answer was something that Harry would not hear at that moment, as he disappeared.

Harry groaned audibly when he realised where he was. His mind, he knew, was a powerful thing. Unfortunately, it was too powerful for its own good. It appeared that while Harry was at the Halloween feast, his mind had been searching desperately for the Pit of Time. It had picked the worst moment to find it, as his sudden disappearance from the great hall was bound to get the attention of the students – someone disappearing from where they had been moments ago wasn't exactly a common thing – especially since it's supposed to be impossible to apparate around Hogwarts.

Harry glanced around the room to find Merlin, and was surprised to discover that he was sitting at a desk, which hadn't been there last time, reading from a bookcase that hadn't been there either.

He cleared his voice, and Merlin looked around calmly. "Ahh, Welcome, Harry. That took a while."

Harry shrugged. "I have a slightly bigger problem. I just disappeared from the great hall in the middle of a feast…"

Merlin looked a bit worried. "That could be a rather awkward situation, should you not appear in exactly the same place very quickly."

"Exactly," Harry agreed.

"We'll I guess your visit had better be brief then. It shouldn't be hard for you to apparate back. Remember your training."

Harry was not at all pleased that Merlin didn't help him get back, but Merlin didn't know exactly where he had been anyway… Harry needed to remember exactly where he had been sitting, to the last millimetre, or else it would be clear to anyone that had been watching him that he had suddenly moved in the space of milliseconds.

Harry forced himself to remember the castle; he then pictured himself in the great hall. He didn't know what chair he had been in, so he would have to test his apparating to a place in relation to a particular person. He would have to imagine himself a certain distance away from Ron, just as he had been before. After a few moments hesitation, Harry 'took the plunge'. 

The scenery again changed, and Harry found himself sitting in his chair again. He was not in exactly the same place as before, but as he reappeared he remembered that they were waiting for Hermione's answer. He averted his attention to her.

Hermione had been about to say something, but she stopped abruptly. Harry had been gone milliseconds, but to her it looked like he had flickered and miraculously moved to the left at the same time. Harry gave her a lopsided smile, and she knew that he had achieved his goal of finding the Pit of Time.

"Mmm," she mused, tried to remember what she was about to say, "Ron, I would love to go out with you!" She said, remembering the issue, and smiling a small smile in Ron's direction. Harry presumed that the small smile had been because she was still a bit shocked over his disappearance and reappearance. 

The moment was lost, however, as Dumbledore and the teachers, except for Professor Trelawney, all stood, and ran out of the Great Hall. Harry knew exactly where they were going - to fight Voldemort.

===================

Reviews/Opinions are appreciated, though not compulsory ;) – Encouragement is what gets me writing quickly. Due to large amount of support I got for the last chapter, I intend on posting the next chapter in 24 hours if I can get it written in time!

_NOTE: Anyone who wants to be e-mailed whenever a new chapter is published, please leave your e-mail address in a review, or e-mail me on k3nny@paradise.net.nz and tell me that you want me to e-mail you when new chapters are published._


	11. Chapter 11 - Progressing?

**Harry Potter and the Pit of Time**

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

Thank you everyone for your support! This took a few days – I'll admit it. I didn't get as much production done this weekend as I would of liked to have done, but I'll try my hardest to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.

Thanks to the following for looking over the fic before I posted it: HarryNZ, NAPPA, Silver Tears. – Check out their fanfics, they are all wonderful authors. I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed – I can honestly say that I write a lot faster when I know that people are interested. This Chapter is kind of a transition chapter, the plot thickens from here on in, and the battles shall soon be under way. 

**Chapter 11:**

Ron and Hermione slowly settled down to a newly found relationship, and Dumbledore and staff members seemed to leave the school at the oddest of times – sometimes even during the middle of a class. On most occasions only a handful of the teachers actually left, but there was still the odd occasion that they would disappear. Harry, after getting it right by accident, hadn't managed to get back into the Pit of Time just yet – but that was not due to a lack of trying. He knew that, just like apparating around Hogwarts, he would get better and better at it, as he did it more often. The problem was that Merlin couldn't pass his powers on to Harry until he was sure that Harry could get into the Pit of Time. Once Merlin passed his powers on, the only place he could be reached was in that Pit.

The school was positively alive with rumour and speculation in the war against Voldemort. It seemed that the Order of the Phoenix was now widely known in the magical world, and there were many stories that had been published detailing battles against Voldemort. Harry didn't know what to believe though, as he sat in the Great Hall reading yet another story.

_Voldemort attacks muggle village in New Zealand  
By Carl McHick_

_A small town that is remote to the central part of this country was attacked, known as Christchurch. It is of little importance to the wizarding or muggle world, and the attack lacked purpose. The point of the attack was, from a bystander's point of view, just to torture a few muggles, and had no significance in the war. This reporter witnessed first hand on behalf of the Daily Prophet what the enemy has become. What shocked us most was the appearance of a strange defence group that were certainly not aurors. They had clearly travelled a long distance – New Zealand couldn't afford such a group, and immediately begun to counter the affects of he-who-must-not-be-named. It was clear that the Dark Lord was not planning to meet resistance, as he and his dark followers fled the countryside. The town of Christchurch owes their lives to this anonymous group, but one can only feel that it is merely a matter of time before the Dark Lord will strike again._

They were all the same, Harry thought as he sighed. No one could be certain of what had taken place. The only person who would speak out as a witness was a reporter, so this could easily be an exaggeration.

Harry's thought process was interrupted by the most irritating sound of argument. Ron had shown signs of 'backing down' originally when he had been nervous prior to asking Hermione on a date, but all that seemed forgotten, and his unwillingness to argue had been a one-off occasion. The two of them were back and louder than ever, and Harry was now stuck in the middle of it.

"The library is NOT just used by bookworms Ron! Harry uses it sometimes, right Harry?" Hermione asked for support, glancing in Harry's direction.

"Uhh." Was about all Harry could stutter before Ron's counter-attack came in thick and fast.

"Hermione don't be silly – the only times we got to the library are when you make us! We buy all the books we need at the beginning of the year. Don't you agree, Harry?"

Both of the two looked expectantly at him, and he sighed, "Do you two know how to do anything other than bicker?"

"We do not bicker!" two voices replied.

"Ohh, yeah, then what were you just doing?" Harry asked.

"We were agreeing that the library is for book worms." Ron said, answering for both of them. This bought on another round of arguments, which Harry could not stop. Whenever either of them made a move to involve him, he just raised a hand. When breakfast finally ended, Harry practically ran the entire way to potions – an enthusiasm he had never held for the subject in his life, and one that he suspected he would never have again.

The lesson was like all other potions lessons. Harry wondered if the prisoners that inhabited the dungeon were tortured as badly as this.

Snape was his usual self, whom Ron sarcastically deemed 'wonderful' whenever he got the chance. The whole class gave a collective sigh of relief when Snape was forced to let them go as the loud chiming bell sounded throughout the school – the sudden springing to life of students as they ran out of the classroom at top speed could have fooled anyone who did not know that they just had potions into believing that they were running from Voldemort himself.

Defence against the Dark Arts was a very interesting lesson that day. Professor Lupin was in bandages from various injuries he had attained 'overnight'. It was clear that the Order had been very busy the night before. It hurt Harry immensely to know that his powers were going to waste. He felt helpless, and he couldn't help but feel guilty. In the paper he was reading about deaths all over the country, and it depressed him greatly. The burden got harder and harder on his back, and he knew that the Order was fighting a loosing war – the dark lord had too many assets, and the order wasn't even denting his cause. All that they were doing was putting off the inevitable – Voldemort triumphing over them. Harry felt that he himself could stop the inevitable happening, and he was probably right.

Lunch was quite an interesting affair – Harry discovered that Professor Lupin wasn't the only Professor that had been injured in his nighttime battles. Professor Flitwick had a gash down his cheek, which had a bandage on it, while Professor McGonagall wasn't even present – but he soon ascertained from the students around him that she hadn't faired too well from the ordeal either. Whatever had gone on had gone beyond magic. Harry just hoped that Sirius was looking after himself.

He would have to talk to Dumbledore that evening and see if he could catch a word with Sirius in the process. He needed to try and get in this war – but somehow he felt that it was not wise to tell Dumbledore of his powers – his big advantage over Voldemort was his element of surprise. Dumbledore would be expecting a weak and easily broken little boy – a boy that he met a number of months ago. He would not meet that boy – of that Harry was sure. If someone in the Order was to spy, then they would leak the knowledge of Harry's strength to Voldemort. Dumbledore would never be able to hide Harry's identity from his Order, and the Order deserved to know of their fellow members.

Still, he needed to try and weasel his way into the Order – an increasingly large number of lives were depending on it.

During lunch Harry decided that he needed to get some fresh air and ponder all of these thoughts. He summoned his one and only confidant, Hermione, and the two of them went for a walk around the lake.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, seeing his distant look. She had obeyed without hesitating when Harry had asked her if she would accompany him around the lake. She knew of Harry's mental state. Both of them understood one another's feelings without a word.

"I've just got to do something Hermione. Anything… People are dying, and I could stop them." Harry said quietly, anger clear in his voice.

"Harry," Hermione put an arm on his shoulder in comfort, "Its not your fault – if you go out there and fight, then you will loose your element of surprise. Some people may have to die, but we wont win the war unless you can destroy you-know-who." Hermione said this in a soothing voice.

"But if I was there, then lives would be saved. Its no ones fault but mine – if Dumbledore knew about my power, then he would surely let me fight, but I'm just too afraid to my identity prematurely." Harry said bitterly.

The two walked in silence for some time, before Harry realised that they were nearing the end of the lake. "Hermione, is there any way that I can make myself invisibly and go and fight?" Harry asked thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure, Harry, but I think that any invisibility charm would wear off when you do a different spell… And Dumbledore could probably see through it."

So from that moment on Hermione had a new research assignment, with the lives of many people depending on it.

Harry also had something to think about – if anyone would know of a powerful invisibility charm, it would be Merlin. Harry would just have to hope that it didn't wear off when he fired a curse. Until he saw Merlin, though, any research Hermione could muster would help him immensely.

Harry had a lot on his mind now – Quidditch was just a few weeks away, not to mention Christmas fast approaching. 

He wasn't going to give up on the lives that rested on his shoulders, though. He was going to see Dumbledore that night and see if he could be admitted to the Order. He had to help – there were no two ways about it. Harry had never been someone to sit on the sideline – his whole time in Hogwarts, he was always in the thick of whatever went on in each respective year, and he was beginning to get used to it. By no means did he enjoy it – risking his life was certainly not a sport that he enjoyed, and the fame that it generated was his archenemy.

Harry wondered up to the common room, Hermione at his side. They had a friendly chat, in which time Hermione said that things were going alright between her and Ron, but that Ron argued more than ever now, because Ron wanted to be the dominant one. Being the dominant one, to Ron, meant be always right. So when they argued, Ron wouldn't back down, and would instead keep fighting a hopeless battle. This infuriated Hermione, as most of the time it was Ron that started the argument in the first place.

They finally made it to the common room, and sat down beside Ron, who seemed to have heard 'the latest rumour'.

"Have you heard what they're saying?" He asked in way of greeting, looking excited. 

Both Harry and Hermione shook their heads.

"They're saying that its the Order of the Phoenix that is stopping Voldemort all of the time!" Ron said enthusiastically, as though it were the best thing in the world.

"Really? Where did you hear that Ron?" Harry him asked, trying to sound surprised at the idea.

"Its all over the school! I got told by Seamus who got told by…" He then went through the chain of people who the knowledge had gone through. Harry was surprised that Ron was so far back in the loop.

Ron, being the know-it-all that he fancied himself to be, decided to tell Hermione the history of the Order of the Phoenix. Hermione, because the know-it-all that she didn't need to pretend to be, knew the real history, not the 'legend' that Ron seemed to be convinced about.

Harry groaned, another round was about to begin. Harry tuned out of the loud banter that Ron and Hermione were making, and came to a conclusion – he was going to visit the Dumbledore that evening.

Later that evening, the common room became bare as some 7th year girls left it – or at least it appeared that way to the untrained eye. In his usual chair, sat Harry Potter, an invisibility cloak draped over his head. He had been waiting for everyone in the house to go to bed before he left so that he was certain that no one noticed that he was gone – the rules applied to heroes as well.

Satisfied, he apparated to the gargoyle statue, and hacked the password in his usual manor – cherry pops this time – will Dumbledore ever learn?

Harry walked up the round staircase to the headmaster's office – it was not particularly late – about the time students were expected to be asleep, but that teachers were still awake.

Harry knocked, and Dumbledore beckoned him inside. Harry was surprised to see that Dumbledore had another guest at the time – Sirius. Sirius had, in his haste, quickly transformed into a dog when there had been a knock at the door. Upon seeing his godson, Sirius transformed back and quickly hugged Harry. Harry was only too happy to hug back – half the reason for his visit had been to make sure that Sirius was okay.

"Good evening Harry" Dumbledore greeted warmly, but looking tired, "I take it you want to talk about more than how easy it is to guess my password?"

Harry's mind snapped straight to the point.

"Professor, I want to be in the Order of the Phoenix. I can help, I know I can!"

"No!" Sirius answered flatly for Dumbledore, "What we have been up against lately is horrible – no one your age should ever have to contend with something like that."

"I want to help! The Order can't keep this up forever! Sooner or later you will make a mistake or something, and then you will all die!" Harry said desperately. He couldn't handle the blood shed anymore, and he felt that it was coming from his own hands. If Sirius and the rest of the Order died, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

"Harry, even if you were in the Order, how can you change that? You're just a 15-year-old boy in your 5th year. We would just be putting your life at risk."

They had a point, but he wasn't just a 15-year-old boy. How could he tell them that though?

"I'm a 15 year old boy that has fought Voldemort four times already in my life, and I want to do it again to stop more people dying!" Harry said, struggling to regulate his voice, and trying to keep the anger out of it.

"Harry, noble as that may be, you've not experienced Voldemort at the hight of his powers – not recently anyway."

"I know that I am heir to Gryffindor." Harry said quietly.

This changed things quickly. Dumbledore looked surprised, Sirius looked like he was about to faint – James Potter obviously hadn't told his friends about the fact, if he knew about it.

"I was wondering when you might come into that knowledge." Dumbledore said worriedly, "But I can't help but wonder how you discovered it?"

"That is not of importance. It is in my heritage to fight evil, Professor. It is what my bloodline has done all its life, and I want to do it as well."

"Harry, it is for this very reason that you are not fighting. The final battle will inevitably involve you, but if you do not live to that final battle, then the side of good truly has lost."

Harry was unsure what to say – would he risk telling them about Merlin? No, he couldn't. Merlin forbade him to reveal the secret to anyone who might doubt him. Dumbledore had not believed him originally – or at least that was the impression Harry got. He couldn't risk it.

"We'll Harry, I'm sure you would like to have a catch up with your godfather?" Dumbledore asked, changing the subject.

Harry nodded, and Dumbledore left the office, leaving Harry and Sirius alone.

"So how are you, Harry?" Sirius asked with interest, care in his voice.

"I'm doing alright… But I want to help out, Sirius."

"Harry, its not the right time, you will help out - later. Anyway, have you found yourself a girl yet?" Sirius asked carefully, trying to be as fatherly as possible.

"Nah, I'm too busy saving the world" Harry replied sarcastically. 

"Harry… I'm trying to be fatherly here." That sobered Harry a bit, until he tried to picture Sirius being a father. He burst out laughing, and Sirius looked at him angrily.

"Its not that funny!" Sirius said weakly.

Harry just replied with a laugh. It sure was funny.

"Have you got your eye on any girls, Harry?" Sirius asked seriously again.

"Uhh, not really. I've been a little busy… There was Cho last year…" He winced, "since I found out how sour she could be, girls aren't all that much fun…"

Sirius nodded his head in agreement. "I never could get a date with the nice ones. Your father kept getting them… He kept saying that my style was all wrong," His hand involuntarily came up to his cheek.

After a bit of joking, and Harry discovering that he was not the only person who had bad luck with girls, Harry retired to his dorm and fell asleep immediately.

=================

Please Review if you think the story is worth it – I post a lot faster when I know that people are interested. I need feedback – I don't want to write something that people don't like!


	12. Chapter 12 - the Battle of surprises

**Harry Potter and the Pit of Time**

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may just unlock his past, and help determine his future. Action, adventure, an Order of the Phoenix, and Death Eater attacks.

People said that they wanted some action? Well, you've got some! That's all I'm saying ;)

HarryNZ has been especially supportive of getting this chapter out – it would be a few more days before I motivated myself if it wasn't for him. Nappa has been his wonderful self with opinions, and Silver Tears helped out as well. 

For those of you who like H/Hr, I highly recommend reading HarryNZ's new fic that he is starting called '**The Piano Man'**. I have read the plot, and all I can say is that it will be a **real experience**, and it will **not** be one of those sappy and predictable fics that you get sick of by the second chapter.   
As I've explained before, I'm from New Zealand, and over here, we spell don't spell defence the way the rest of the world spells it. Sorry, MS Word is set to New Zealand spelling & grammar, and we spell it 'defence', not 'defense'.

**Chapter 12:**

A cold and powerful wind was gusting through the dark unsheltered plains, as the moon crawled slowly through the sky. Around the plains were tall gloomy mountains, like towers surrounding a battlement. Moonlight lit the plains with an eerie and unnatural white glow, creating a ghostly look to the place. The moonlight danced along the crumpled, sandy earth, which made the poor soil look alive. The most unnerving thing about this place, however, was not the tall gloomy mountains, nor was it the glow that the pale earth gave off. No, the frightening thing about this place was a single man, who stood in the middle of this forgotten land. His eyes scanned the plains like a hawk, cutting through the air as though searching inside its very molecules for the existence of life.

_Suddenly, there was a loud popping sound, and standing on the plain were 12 newcomers. These people looked very much like the first, but they didn't carry the same degree of power in their eyes. They didn't have the same degree of fearlessness, and they all did something, which the figure in the middle did not – they feared. The person they feared the most, was strangely enough, their master – the person before them._

_They all cowered in fear as he raised a hand to his face, but it was only to taunt them. He simply undid his hood and let his hand drop back to his side. These people all wanted power, and they believed that this man was going to get it for them. They endured his torture and mood changes because they wanted to someday be like him. They had no loyalties, only dreams. They had no power of mind – only a thirst for it._

_This group of people were known to the world as death eaters, and they were willing to go to any means necessary for personal gains. They were feared, but in their hearts they were cowards. Their lord knew that. He knew that they weren't to be trusted, but they served their purpose in his model world. Voldemort was an extremist – he strived for power and for his own views to be the views to count. It was through this striving, that he discovered an obstacle. _

_This was his solution to the obstacle, and he was using his death eaters to overcome it for him._

_Harry Potter thought all of these thoughts as he watched through Voldemort's eyes as he inspected the men before him. It was a frightening experience – he could feel Voldemort's dark thoughts – he could see exactly how Voldemort's mind worked. _

_What scared him most was that this had never happened to him before, and as Voldemort thought these thoughts of dead and pain without remorse, Harry was worried that he had become Voldemort. Yet Harry could still think his own thoughts while his mind processed those belonging to Voldemort. This was a skill he had developed as he found new power – being literally able to think different things at once, and comprehend them all at the same time._

_The death eaters were well trained – they just stood looking at him, waiting. Harry could see the fear in their eyes, and he knew that Voldemort was enjoying this every ounce of it – Voldemort was thriving on it._

_"The moment of victory is upon us, death eaters. I should hope that no one has made any mistakes?" Voldemort's evil voice drawled._

_His voice was replaced by silence._

_"Good. Let us begin then." With Voldemort's simple words, 6 of the death eaters disappeared, and finally, so did Voldemort – but he only moved off into the shadows._

_Harry watched from Voldemort's position in the shadows as the remaining six begun to do something very weird – they begun to walk around in a large circle, one behind the other. They seemed to be putting up some sort of a perimeter, but they were leaving no physical marks of doing so. They simply walked around in a large circle muttering under their breath with wands trained on the ground._

_Harry realised that if he tuned into Voldemort's mind, he would know what they were doing. That was easier said that done, however, as he seemed unreceptive to it all of the sudden. Whatever ability he had been using just moments ago, he could no long tap into now. He was helpless – all he could do was see what Voldemort saw as his eyes swept the scene with interest and obvious anticipation. This task clearly was a major one. The death eaters soon became tired, but still Voldemort did not help them._

_Suddenly, there was another loud pop sound, and Harry's eyes almost popped out of his head. Before him stood 30 death eaters – all with their matching cloaks and masks as was the standard kit for a death eater._

_Miraculously, the death eaters that had just arrived seemed to walk around the perimeter, and literally disappear. Where a death eater had once been, there was no longer one, yet the ground still looked as solid as it ever had._

_Ambush! Harry's mind screamed at him. Whoever was coming here was about to meet a far bigger force than they had intended. Unfortunately, Harry knew who this group would be. It would be the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry would not be able to save them – he could only watch. Another part of his mind asked how they would manage to flush the Order into this place, but he suddenly wished he hadn't asked. A single death eater suddenly appeared and asked if they were ready. Voldemort replied an agitated 'yes' and the death eater disappeared again._

_Moments later, a huge group of people all appeared. By the look of their robes, they were all wizards. Cables bound their hands firmly together. They were all holding something that it appeared they did not want to be holding, and Harry soon realised that the random collection of objects in their hands were portkeys._

_Around them stood the original 6 death eaters. The group was rather large, about 20 or 30 in total. They all appeared to be wearing robes, so Harry presumed them to be wizards. The death eaters herded them in the middle of the round circle, and then they all took a step back, and looked to Voldemort._

_Voldemort laughed his long, evil laugh, which, had Harry been attached to any other spine than Voldemort's, would have sent chills down it._

_Stealing a group of between 20 and 30 people was bound to attract attention, and since Harry had proven Voldemort had existed and gotten the Order of the Phoenix out of the 'terrorist list', the Order of the Phoenix would be able to track the portkeys used to move all of these wizards over this distance. As soon as they were alerted of the incident, they would be on their way, and the wizardry world sure was fast when it came to responses. _

_And fast they were. Within minutes, the popping sound of wizards apparating could be heard, and in the circle around the prisoners appeared about 20 people in long scarlet robes similar to the Gryffindor quidditch robes with a phoenix emblem on the back, and a golden mask over their head._

_This group clearly knew what they were doing. They immediately paired together against the 6 death eaters standing guard of the hostages. After a few minutes of exchanging curses, the death eaters were all on the ground, and the supposed threat had been neutralised. As the Order begun untying the hostages from their bindings, the death eaters suddenly sprung up from their hiding spots. The Order agents were taken completely off guard. They were surrounded, and since they were all looking in towards the circle at the hostages, the first death eaters they saw were over their fellow Order Agents' shoulders. The result of this was suicidal, immediately the Order begun shooting curses over each others shoulders, instead of turning and firing at the people firing at their back. A very messy battle ensued, and before a Death Eater dropped, ½ of the Order Agents were on the ground, stunned. The Death Eaters on the outside were full of energy, and without mercy begun plunging curses at the Order. They seemed to have a purpose though: Keep the agents alive. Harry didn't even want to think about why._

_The remaining Order agents gained their orientation fast, however, and begun to fire curses at the death eaters that were encircling them. The Death Eaters had made a mistake of their own – they had given up the refuge of their bunkers when they had sensed victory was near, and had begun to edge their way towards the order. The Order agents were well trained, and all of them immediately hit the ground and begun to fire back. The result was catastrophic for the death eaters. Their curses were flying over the Order agents' heads, and were hitting their fellow death eaters. Adding to that, the Order agents were firing curses without remorse. The result was that the death eaters had no idea who the real enemy was._

_At the end of this fiasco, Voldemort still hadn't done anything, and had sat off to the side, unseen by the Order. Probably using an invisibility spell. Harry actually heard him laugh when he saw 2 Order agents were all that was left when the battle was over. Harry unfortunately found out why._

_The Order agents had remained prone, searching carefully for any signs of danger still to come. They had no idea that the real danger was to come from behind both of them. Suddenly, 5 of the hostages were no longer wearing the dress of hostages, but were kitted up Death Eaters instead. They calmly walked up behind the Order agents, and stunned them both._

_Voldemort came out of the shadows, and nodded to the two. This exchange had instant effects on the Death Eaters, as they scampered around reviving their fellow partners in crime._

_The Death Eaters were soon all on their feet, and were gathering up the Order agents. They searched everywhere in the darkness, until they had found each and every one of them, with a little bit of help from Voldemort, who appeared to have far superior eyesight in the darkness._

_The Order agents were left in a big heap in the middle of a huge circle of death eaters. At a glance there appeared to be about 50 of them, all encircling the helpless bodies of their prisoners, feasting on the helplessness of the bodies. Harry didn't want to know what came next, but he could not close his eyes, he could not scream out in pain. He could not come to their rescue and he could not spare the lives of his friends._

_Voldemort motioned to one of the Death Eaters, who, without hesitation, stepped forward and picked the nearest agent out of the pile. He quickly unmasked him, and Harry would have gasped if he could. It was his very own godfather, Sirius Black._

_"Excellent choice, Wormtail. Maybe we should send his head to Potter when we are finished with him," Voldemort said with a smirk. Sirius was revived, and Harry witnessed his brutal and bloody murder. It was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen, and an image that would stay in his mind for the rest of his life. Sirius was put under the Crucio curse by all of the death eaters until he fell to the ground lifelessly, and then, encase he wasn't already dead, cold bloodedly murdered. The death eaters seemed to take turns in the murdering, stepping forward to chose someone out of the pile. It was like lotto for them - trying to find an old enemy or two from the good side._

_Harry witnessed the deaths of most of the people he knew in the wizardry world. He could not stand the sight of what he saw, and yet he had no option but to watch. He could not blink, he could not close his eyes, and he could not block his ears. He saw what Voldemort saw, he heard what Voldemort heard, and while Voldemort may have enjoyed it like a television show, Harry felt so sick inside, that he could compare the feeling only to the Crucio curse. This was the worst sort of mental torture, but the thing that tortured Harry the most was that, if his other dreams were anything to go off, this was probably happening at this very moment, and instead of saving them, Harry had a front row seat._

_Harry literally lapsed in and out of conscious. The brutal Murder of Arthur Weasley was one such time where he could not stand to watch, and there were many other cases, including the deaths of many of his professors. The pained and grave face of Remus Lupin before he met his doom was one that would stay with Harry forever. Before he died, he looked across to where Voldemort/Harry stood. There was pleading in his eyes, and Harry wondered if the pleading was to Voldemort, or if Lupin knew that he was watching these proceedings._

_Finally, Harry's mental torture was over, but one of the golden figures remained. This time, Harry felt himself move forward. It was Voldemort's turn to commit murder, and Harry felt that he knew who this person was. Voldemort didn't fail to deliver. Bellow the mask was the face of Albus Dumbledore, unconscious and completely helpless. As Harry watched this murder take place, he felt himself literally break. Whatever connection that held Harry and Voldemort's minds together for that brief time period was broken, and Harry Potter sat up in bed. _

The affects of such gruelling mental torture were clear – in his mind stood out the vivid murdering of his friends, and even the people he had considered family. He slowly registered that today was the day of the first quidditch match, but that was all he could register before the reason of his mental pain and suffering hit him at full force. His eyes, no matter how hard he tried, simply would not open, and, instead of thinking, his mind choose to reply what he had just witnessed, but in disgustingly accurate detail. When Harry's eyes did open, he thought long and hard. Did his scar hurt when he awoke? He couldn't remember – in fact, he had been unconscious after the connection was severed, so whatever pain he may have felt in his forehead would have inflicted itself upon him while he was unconscious. Harry prayed that what he had just witnessed had not just happened, or would never happen in his lifetime, but the still-functioning part of his mind said that it did – and that part of his mind had not let him down this evening. It was far too real. Never, in his life, had he had a dream of such clarity. The dreams of Voldemort the year before had never held the clarity that this dream held, and the thought of this made his hair stand up on end. He could remember the dream as though it was being replaying before his eyes.

His heart was nearly exploding with ever beat as he apparated to the door of Dumbledore's office, and begun bashing on the door, hoping that the person on the other side was still alive.

=================

**CLIFFHANGER!** Please don't send letter bombs! I apologise to anyone who wanted to be e-mailed when a new chapter was published. I haven't been able to access my mailbox for 2 weeks now, because of an account problem. It should be fixed by Monday. Anyone who would like to be notified of new chapters, it would be best that you left a note in a review instead of e-mailing me, just encase I don't get my e-mail sorted out.

**Am I evil or what?** What will happen next? = Try and guess!  
People wanted action, so I delivered. Sorry, people might hate cliffhangers, but I think they are an effective part of Fanfiction writing. I haven't really written any so far, but here is one ;) 

_I have not started on the next chapter yet, but the more encouragement I get from **YOU**, the reader, the harder I will try to get it out. If all goes well, I aim to complete it in about 24 – 48 hours, but it will depend on the support I get._

_-MythX_


	13. Chapter 13 - The Face Off

**Harry Potter and the Pit of Time**

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence which may unlock his past, and hold the key to his future. The fanfiction contains action, adventure, the Order of the Phoenix, Death Eaters, battles, quidditch, a unique plot and much much more!

Yes, I know, I've got some big explaining to do. I'm so sorry for taking so long with this chapter! I didn't intend on it to take so long [34 days, thanks HarryNZ for keeping count…], but exams got in my way, and I was forced to study for them. I really am sorry, and I will try and catch up on all the updates I have missed. I wrote this chapter the second I had the chance, and my exams are now over. Thank you all for your support and patience in waiting for this chapter. I know how cruel it was leaving you all with a cliffhanger, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Thanks go to Carl [HarryNZ] for his support and generally for his friendship throughout my exams. Also for accepting it when I say 'well, I've just had my English exam, and I can't be bothered doing anything else' and not insisting that I write as some people in his situation could do. Thanks also to Imran [NAPPA] for convincing me to publish this chapter – I was seriously considering rewriting this chapter because I didn't think that it was up to par – you really must read Septanic Dueling – its unbelievably unique. Please do leave feedback – good or bad, and thank you for the lack of letter bombs! 

If your looking for a good read, do read HarryNZ's 'The Piano Man' – I'm his beta reader, and the next chapter isn't far away at all – he's sent it to his beta reader for editing ;-)

**Chapter 13:**

Harry bashed at the door with all his might, each pound placing him further and further into despair. The dream had seemed so… real. He just could not comprehend the idea of many of his idols being dead. The mutilated bodies flashed before his eyes as he continued to hammer at the door, and he bashed the door with a newfound strength, causing his knuckles to begin bleeding. The pain made him feel better – he should have saved them. If only he had tried harder to get into the Order… Why didn't he just tell Dumbledore about his powers? His mind was still racing, when he realised that he was no longer bashing against wood.

"Mr Potter?" a very tired looking Professor Dumbledore asked.

"Ye… Yes Professor" Harry replied shakily, not even registering that the person he thought was dead was alive.

"Judging by your state this isn't a social visit. You best come and sit down."

Then it hit Harry, Professor Dumbledore was still alive… which would mean that the dream never took place! Relief swept through Harry's body, but he was still shaky.  Looking at Professor Dumbledore made him feel like he was seeing a ghost. The battle had been… so real. He knew deep down that his mind was not capable of dreaming up such a thing. Whatever happened before him was either going to happen, or the dream had been forced into his mind.

With his increasing amounts of power, Harry supposed that it would be rather difficult to place a dream in his mind. More to the point, Harry doubted that anybody could make him dream something so realistic – it was just too real. Harry repeated these words over and over as he sat down before his headmaster. "Too real… Too real… Too real…"

Harry caught himself when he noticed Dumbledore looking at him, clearly expecting some sort of explanation. Harry didn't blame him. Being woken up at 4am in the morning definitely deserved an explanation. Surprisingly, though, Dumbledore didn't look at all angry. He looked very worried.

"Professor, tonight I had a dream" Harry begun shakily.

Dumbledore's face got even more worried.

"You… You… d-died Professor."

Dumbledore reacted the complete opposite to how Harry expected, his face changed back to its original tired but unconcerned look.

"Tell me about it." Dumbledore said, almost tiredly.

So Harry explained it to him. He told him about Voldemort setting up the plans, capturing the muggles, the portkey, the battle, and finally, the death. Dumbledore was silence for a moment composing his thoughts. 

"Harry, I can understand with all you went through at the end of last term, things must be hard for you…"

"It's not like that Professor! This was too real. It's going to happen, I just know it will!" Harry said, banging his fist on the table to put emphasis on his point.

"Harry, we all have dreams, some are real, and some are not. You have been known to have truthful dreams before, but not visions of the future.

"Professor, it was so graphic… My mind could never have imagined something like… that." Harry said desperately, knowing that he was loosing his point.

"The mind is a very powerful thing Harry." Dumbledore replied wisely, he was clearly very tired as he spoke these words.

"It's going to happen… I just know it will…" Harry said, still recovering from his prior fears that the dream had taken place.

"Be that as it may Harry, what do you propose we do exactly?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Harry carefully. It was a look Harry knew all to well, and it made Harry feel like he was being examined. It wasn't an angry or disdainful look, just a calculating look.

Harry was stumped at that. There weren't exactly many alternatives. "Not go to the next attack?" Harry asked unsurely.

Dumbledore knew that Harry was just desperately trying to find a reason, but he spoke what was already going through Harry's mind anyway, "Harry, your dream, if it were to come true, may not happen at all, let alone the next time an attack takes place. Are you prepared to tell the families of the people that die that those lives were lost because we were worried it was an ambush?" Harry shook his head, admitting his defeat. Harry had just one other desperate card to play.

"Loosing you and everyone else will loose this war. Even if I were still alive, I would not be able to fight without all of you. Professor, can I join the Order now? If I fight, I might be able to prevent this happening in future."

Dumbledore gave Harry his usual searching look yet again, while Harry looked on anxiously.

"I'm afraid not, Harry. If you were with us this could cause your dream to actually take place. If Voldemort knew you were defending people he would be more likely to set an ambush to get rid of you."

Harry sighed, trapped again. Defeated. Panic took over. His dream would happen if he couldn't help them – he just knew that it would. He had to stop them, just had to.

"Be careful then Professor. Please be careful." Harry said in a small voice. More deaths were about to be laid on his shoulders, and he wasn't able to do a thing about it. His thoughts turned to a matter of when, not if. The dream was real. Far too real.

"We will Harry." Dumbledore said reassuringly, before standing and leading Harry out.

The walk back to Gryffindor tower seemed like a death march to Harry. He knew Quidditch against Ravenclaw was just hours away, but it all seemed irrelevant. The events of the night before replayed before his eyes in such clarity that it frightened him. It didn't disappear from his mind like an ordinary dream – it hung in his conscious thoughts as though it had just happened, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake off the stench of death or the lifeless bodies that had taken their last breath just moments before. As he walked towards Gryffindor tower he looked before doors and around corners, fearing the possibility of a dead body sitting on the ground before him.

If the dream had been somehow implanted in his mind, then his attacker had really hit home. It terrified Harry more than loosing his own life to think that he would be responsible for the destruction of the good side, the death of his teachers, the death of the parents of his friends, the death of Sirius… The thoughts pained him so much that he had little strength to do anything except collapse on his bed, but sleep was a long way away from Harry on that morning, and all he could do was repeat 'too real' to himself for the many hours building up to breakfast.

*********************

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead." Harry heard, seconds before a pillow hit his face. Harry responded with a groan. That obviously wasn't the response the pillow user had wanted, as the pillow came crashing down on his face once again. Harry slowly sat up, as the memories of the dream trickled back into his conscious thoughts, as alive and real as ever. The dreams hit him harder than a thousands pillows ever could, and thus his effort of sitting up in bed failed significantly as the weight of the dream pulled him back down again.

"Harry? Are you okay?" The voice came back worried, Harry's mind was still trying to process the dream, and thus it hadn't yet caught up with him. He tried desperately to place the voice… A voice that he knew all too well… Hermione. He rolled his head sideways to face her, and saw that she did indeed look very concerned.

"Harry… What happened to you?" Hermione asked, immediately rushing forward and trying to help him out to sit up.

Finally finding his tongue, Harry replied to her, "Dream… Voldemort… Order of the Phoenix… Death". His random collection of words would never make sense to anyone. Anyone, that is, except Hermione. She quickly processed in her mind, her eyes darting quickly back to Harry as she realised what he was saying. 

"Are you sure?" She asked, looking terrified.

Harry shook his head, realising that she thought it had happened. She clearly had not seen a teacher yet, and probably had no idea who else was in the Order.

"It didn't happen… It was a bad dream… I think it will happen Hermione…" Harry said, his voice taking on the shaky tone that it had the night before. Hermione quickly reached forward and hugged him, and Harry hugged back equally as strongly. Harry couldn't express how thankful he was of Hermione. He felt that she not only comforted him, but shared her strength with him as well. It was through this gesture that Harry was able to get over his shock, get over his anger, and compose his thoughts. He couldn't remember how long they stayed in that embrace, but the feeling of security was the one thing he needed to compose himself for the quidditch game that was just hours away. As Harry later reflected upon, without Hermione's friendship in that crucial stage, he may never have made it to the quidditch pitch that morning.

*********************

  Harry Potter's silky gold robes blew fiercely in the wind as he stood side to side with the team he had been preparing for a few months now. This was their first challenge. The game carried a certain undercurrent to it, as people knew that Harry and Cho would face off for the first time since Cedric's death. The build up to this very game had been of a tense atmosphere, with the school being split in its support. Slytherin didn't care who won. They just wanted to see some violence and injury, while Hufflepuff was split between the two teams, wedged between supporting the widow of their hero and the hero of their generation. It was being built up to not as a close game, but as a showdown, and the pressure had been showing. Strangely enough, Harry was actually the least effected by this tension and build up. One would suspect that the strain would fall on his shoulders most, but he had no score to settle with Cho. As far as he was concerned, Cho said, under the truth potion that she believed he had killed Cedric. If that was her belief, then there was nothing he could do to stop that. He knew otherwise, and so did everyone who saw the evidence – everyone who was prepared to believe his or her eyes. If Cho wasn't prepared to accept that, then it was her problem.

Harry still had the dream in his mind as his eyes wandered along the Gryffindor team ranks. They stood in the middle of the quidditch field, the small amounts of food that they had stuffed into their stomachs was churning at impossible speeds, especially young Seamus Finnigan, who was to the newest member to the Gryffindor quidditch team since Harry first joined the team – 4 years ago. Harry remembered his first game, and remembered how nervous he was leading up to that. He remembered how he was almost killed, but then he closed his eyes as his mind wandered back to the dream the previous night. He had to stay focused, for Gryffindor's sake. He was a captain now. The seats were slowly filling as his eyes surveyed the scene, trying to focus on the task at hand. Physically he was alert, his reflexes in check, but mentally he was still attempting to get over the repercussions of death and destruction that he had witnessed the night before. As he turned and ushered the team into the locker room, he closed his mind off to the horrible train of thought that had begun last night. He took one last look at the morning sun, and the fiercely blowing Gryffindor flags held by his team's loyal Gryffindor supporters, before turning and walking into the changing rooms.

When he arrived in the changing rooms six very worried looking faces looked back at him, each of them looking more terrified than the next. The pressure had really got to his team, and that was apparent by their body language and nervous glances. Harry was by far the most composed of them – quidditch was like a walk in the park compared to Voldemort, but the morning before quidditch games always sent a shiver down his spine, especially so since the outcome of the game would reflect on Harry's captaincy. The most effected member of his team was easily Seamus, who was experiencing the pressures of quidditch for the first time.

Harry lay an arm on his shoulder in a friendly gesture, and addressed him quietly, "You'll do fine, Seamus."

He then took his arm off Seamus' shoulder and looked to the rest of the team. 

"We will win as long as everyone does his or her job. Pressure is the only thing that could loose this game for us, but most of you have done this before, and coped with it before. To our newer member, all that we ask of you is to play your very best, and ignore the crowd. Ravenclaw are under as much pressure as us, and I suspect Cho is putting huge strain on them. Don't underestimate them though, Cho wants to win this game, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were getting up at 3 am every day to practice."

The team nodded their heads, and stood in the entrance way to the changing rooms, waiting for Lee Jordan to begin announcing. They each drifted into a sort of trance-like state as they tried to conquer their nerves. Harry was among them, the weight of the game strongly resting in his ability to not just search for the snitch but assist Seamus in defence at the same time. His position was one of the most affected by the new tactics incorporated into defence. Harry's power of mind was something that increased along side his magical ability, and he had somehow managed to subdue his mentally battle with the events of the previous night. That problem would be dealt with later.

"Welcome to the 1st quidditch match of the season! It's Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw! Introducing the Ravenclaw team… Lead out by captain Davies, with fellow chasers Boot and Cornfoot, followed by beaters Twindle and McCarthy, keeper Entwhistle followed by seeker Chang!" A loud applause went up as the Ravenclaws jogged out onto the field and stood next to Madame Hooch in the center of the field. 

"And now, the Gryffindor team, Lead out by captain and seeker Potter-" if the Ravenclaw applause had been loud, then the applause was deafening for that particular name, "followed by chasers Johnson, Bell and Spinnet, beaters Weasley and Weasley, and keeper Finnigan!" The Gryffindor team also gathered around the center of the field, waiting for Madame Hooch's whistle. The many supports were a blur for Harry as his eyes focused sharply on the air around him, adjusting to the light that seemed so much brighter than the gloomy locker rooms. One look at his team told him that they were focused and ready as well, and he approached Davies and shook his hang firmly, looking him in the eyes as well. Davies shook back politely, after seeing Harry in action he obviously wasn't prepared to take any chances in getting the little man worked up.

"The balls are released, and the players are off!" Lee's voice boomed around the stadium as players swooped into the air.

Harry's eyes survey's the scene as Jordan announced that Ravenclaw had taken possession of the quaffle. His eyes stopped in their search as they rested on those of another player. Cho Chang was glaring directly at Harry. It became immediately clear to Harry that in her eyes he was responsible for Cedric's death, but he had no time to dwell on the possibility of that, and diverted his eyes from Cho and set about searching for the snitch. In his practices he had sharpened up his many abilities, and his eyesight appeared to be naturally improving as the year progressed. He wondered how much of these he owed to unlocking his powers, and how much of it was naturally coming to him now.

His eyes quickly shot around, before he took the 'diamond' position that he had planned. Basically, he hovered about 30 feet above Seamus, who was defending the post, taking a rotational route around the field, but coming back whenever the opposing chasers were attacking.

Harry decided to tune into Lee Jordan's commentary, as the game begun to unfold.

"…And its Spinnet with the quaffle, passes across the goal area to Bell, who quickly passes back to Spinnet, who scores! 10 – 0 to Gryffindor! Ravenclaw in possession now, Davies coming full speed towards the Gryffindor goal… passes to Boot, who passes it on to Cornfoot, Cornfoot approaching the goal now-" Harry knew it was time for action, and begun flew straight down from his perch above Seamus at the oncoming Chaser. "-He gets ready to shoot… And What's Potter doing…" Lee said, sounding astounded as he caught sight of Harry racing at the oncoming chaser. The dumbfounded Chaser didn't have any idea why Harry would be flying at him, but he soon learnt the meaning of quidditch as his distraction meant a bludge came pounding his way, complements of Fred Weasley. Harry was still advancing though, and the Chaser lost the quaffle to Alicia Spinnet in his hesitation. Harry pulled up, satisfied at his handiwork, and returned to his perch above Seamus.

His position above Seamus had its disadvantages though, and one of them was snitch finding. Harry wasn't particularly sure how good Cho was at finding the snitch, but his eyes alternated between the quaffle and Cho as he hovered aimlessly. There was very little time for snitch searching. While Harry was watching the quaffle and Cho simultaneously, Cho didn't have to do so much, and whenever Harry glanced at Cho, most of the time he found her glaring straight back. She seemed to think he was her ticket to finding the snitch.

Harry made a decision - if she wanted to go on a ride, then he would take her on one. Harry flew up about 30 feet and forward of out of his perch, and knew that he had caught Cho's attention. She was curious by his sudden spark into life, and flew towards him slightly, trying to follow his gaze, which was on the ground some 80 feet bellow him. He tried to make it look like he was trying to conceal where his eyes were looking. Suddenly, he dived. Straight for the ground he flew, enjoying the cold wind blowing in his face as he crouched into the broom, increasing his speed. "Whats this, Potter's seen the snitch!" Came Lee's loud voice, as the world became a blur for Harry. The ground was approaching, and Harry could feel the air behind him as Cho made a desperate attempt to try and catch up with him as well. He decreased speed slightly, allowing her to gain on him. He let all conscious thoughts go as he approached the hard soil coated in grass, being aware of just two things, the ground, and himself. He automatically levelled out and felt the grass cutting at his fingertips, as he lay flat on his broom. He turned around to discover Cho wasn't so lucky, and was now a pile of dirt. 

"What a Wronski Faint that was! Victor Krum couldn't do that!"

Harry wasn't sure if she had decreased speed or not before hitting the ground, but by the looking of things she was okay. Madame Pomfrey quickly made her way to Cho's side to inspect her, but Cho didn't seem to be too injured, just very shaken. She must have either picked his fake or decelerated at the last second, Harry thought, relieved that he hadn't caused her serious injury. He hadn't expected to pull the move off so flawlessly.

Harry caught sight of Hermione and Ron waving to him energetically from the audience. At least they aren't arguing, he thought dryly. The slight break between play was all that was needed for Harry's focus to waver, however, and his thoughts begun drifting back to the dream again. Must Focus, he told himself. Must Focus. 

The scoreboard was something that disappointed Harry, as he discovered that Ravenclaw had scored to make it 10 – 10. He had definitely tried that faint a bit too soon, and it was his mistake for not making sure that Gryffindor was in possession of the quaffle.

The game soon begun once more, and Harry's mind seemed to be split in two minds – a quidditch mind, and a mind that was reliving the events of that very morning. He needed something to happen, and soon. It was also clear that the Ravenclaw Team were beginning to get very angry with Harry putting them off as they advance on the goal.

The score eventually settled on 30-10 to Gryffindor, with some well-worked goals coming from the Gryffindor chasers, and some strong and sturdy defence by Harry. The Ravenclaw team made a break. They advanced on Harry in a formation Harry hadn't seen before, with one chaser about 10 meters above the other chaser, and the other one 10 meters behind. Harry was unaware of the whereabouts of the beaters, and that proved to be his biggest mistake. Behind the back chaser the 2 beaters were off at right angles, and Harry soon discovered the problem when the beaters suddenly shot straight at the top chaser, who conveniently had a bludger chasing him. Harry had been focusing on the leader chaser in possession of the quaffle, and was not particularly muffled about the chaser above him accelerating faster than the chaser in front of him. Unfortunately one of the beaters came swooping in, and smashed the bludger directly at Harry. The bludger struck Harry in the jaw. He lost control of the broom and begun to catapult towards the ground. 

The ground was approaching Harry at unbelievable speeds. Nothing would save him from serious injury or death. He was still laced around his broom as he fell, but he seemed unable to pull it up from the suicide dive. As the ground appeared to came flying up to greet him, Harry rolled off his broom at the last second, falling about one meter free fall at the speed that the broom had been travelling. His impact with the ground looked very painful, and it certainly wowed the many spectators present, especially when he stood up just moments after. Somehow, in the time between rolling off the broom and impact, Harry had managed to unconsciously do magic to slow himself down, and had consequently saved himself from either extremely serious injuries, or death.

He stood up, placed a hand to his head – which felt like it had just been rammed into a brick wall, before doing a very dizzy looking circle on the spot, remounting his broom. He kicked off, and got back into the game while everyone stared at him with mouths open. His collision with the ground had looked bone crunching, and he got the impression that people were trying to work out if he was a ghost or not. The impact had been exceedingly painful, but after experiencing pain like the crucio curse some things just never felt the same. 

Harry was shaken but not discouraged as he resumed his flight pattern, changing tact from his hovering position above Seamus to instead look for the snitch and fly at the chasers from behind as they attacked. The score was at 40-40, with Ravenclaw doing some particularly good work to even the game up. The lack of Harry in defence was making all the difference, and this game could indeed be a loss if Harry didn't do something quick. He eyed the field suspiciously, when he saw what appeared to be a glitter of gold. He flew at it with everything he could muster, trying desperately to identify the object he had sighted. Cho was on his tail somewhat more reluctantly this time, but as they approached Harry's suspicions were confirmed: It was indeed the snitch. Cho quickly speed up but her original reluctance had put her far behind. In Harry's concentration, however, he had forgotten one of the basic rules of quidditch: What you can't see will hurt you. And hurt him it did. A bludger came pounding straight into Harry's back causing him to twist the broom slightly. At the speed he was travelling at it became a big problem, and despite Harry's attempted to reroute, he was still knocked off course considerably. Cho neared the snitch, Harry hot on her tail, when suddenly, out of instinct, Harry stopped his cross-field angle and dived instead. Harry knew not how, but the snitch seemed to follow him, so it became Cho flying an intercept angle, with Harry flying from his position just feet above the grass across the field to it. Cho was slowly descending directly above him, with Harry flying along the grass tops just feet from the ground. Both reached out an arm, lunging desperately for the little ball of gold. Cho kept getting lowering and lower. She was directly above Harry. She wasn't going to get it, Harry was going to get the snitch… he grabbed, at it just as something came crashing down on the back of his neck, he tightening his grip around something, but he lost all conscious thought as Cho landed on top of him with serious force, crashing him to the ground with her body weight forcing him down. His last thought was to ask himself "Do I have the snitch?" as unconsciousness overtook him.

=================

Any there you have it – The chapter! Now I DESPERATELY need feedback on the quidditch match. In future I will have to write Slytherin vs Gryffindor, and I want it to be a good chapter! I almost rewrote this chapter because I thought the quidditch was really badly written, I hope to do better In the future.

Please comment on the chapter – Your feedback makes me a better writer! I apologise for taking so long with the chapter, hopefully the next one will be out sooner. Your support is what keeps me going!

Want to be e-mailed when the next chapter comes out? Leave your e-mail address in a review or e-mail me on k3nny@paradise.net.nz


	14. Chapter 14 - The Aftermath

Harry Potter and the Pit of Time 

**Disclaimer:** _This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended._

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence that may unlock his past, and hold the key to his future. The fanfiction contains action, adventure, the Order of the Phoenix, Death Eaters, battles, quidditch, a unique plot and much much more! 

Sorry for taking so long with this update, Fanfiction.Net has unfortunately experienced a number of problems. Don't worry though - while Fanfiction.Net has been down, I have still been writing. The next chapter is approximately 6,500 words, and that has been finished as well. I'm just proof reading it quickly. I've also written about 2,500 words on the chapter after next. So I'm still working hard on the chapters. Please do leave reviews on the chapters though. I don't want my personal standards to fall, and I want to make sure they continue to rise, and the only way I can do that is through your opinions and support. Thanks for your patience! 

**Chapter 14:**

The wind blew softly across Harry Potter's emotionless face, making his hair dance rhythmically as it gusted. Without warning, the young man snapped into consciousness. The first thing he did, even before opening his eyes, was grasp at an object that was not there – the golden snitch was not in his hand. His second action, mixed with disappointment and anger, was to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. Instead of being on the quidditch pitch as he remembered, he was lying in the Infirmary – his body sprawled across a hospital bed. Most of his body was bandaged, and a headache was beginning to take up residence within his head. 

The memory of Cho crashing into him came to him, but even worse than that was the even more painful memory of the Order of the Phoenix. What if they had gone out and died just after the quidditch game? He asked himself angrily. Obviously, he had lost the quidditch – the Gryffindor team would be there now if he had won – he surely hadn't been unconscious that long. But had he lost the Order of the Phoenix as well? Harry knew that the light side were very worried about their chances – they were all relying on him to get them through the inevitable battle with Voldemort. No doubt they were worried that he might be incapable of destroying Voldemort, but they didn't know the full truth about him. He was worried about the inevitable battle himself, yes, but he was even more worried about their lives at the moment. Without them he doubted he would have the power of will to succeed. 

He did not get a chance to dwell on this possibility, as Madame Pomfrey made an appearance. 

"Ahh, up so soon, Potter?" She asked, surprise evident in her voice. 

"Up so soon?" Harry asked curiously, "How soon is soon?" 

"You've been out for a few hours." 

"How is that soon?" Harry asked, alarm creeping into his tone. 

"For the injuries you sustained in that quidditch match, it's a surprise your up at all. Crashing into the ground like that… If that had been anyone else, they would have been dead. One must wonder how you manage to survive such things." 

Harry gulped. Suspicion was never a good thing, and now that he thought about it, the entire school would be full of talk as to how he managed to survive that death-defying dive. 

"Yes, well… I've got used to pain over the years." Harry said honestly, "Can I go now?" 

"Go? You're bones are broken and yet you want to leave?" an outraged Madame Pomfrey asked him. 

"Uhh… Maybe not go then." Harry felt stupid for obviously not noticing the pain from his broken bones. The pain just didn't feel… as bad as it has in the past. 

Madame Pomfrey gave Harry the foul potion, which he remembered all-too-well from his second year, and left the room to let him get some sleep. Along with the foul potion, she gave him a sleeping potion, but sleep was not what Harry wanted. Harry wanted to see Merlin. It took very little effort for him to throw off the sleeping potion – it was only a mild one anyway. So Harry was left to his own thoughts. 

Finding the Pit of Time was becoming easier and easier for him, as mentally searched for something that he could not see. After relaxing and concentrating, he managed to slip away from reality, into a place an ordinary person could only dream about. 

The scenery changed from the dull infirmary to an even duller room. Despite the appearance, the room had a lively atmosphere, which was very unlike the lifeless one of the infirmary. 

"So nice of you to join me, Harry." Came a voice from behind him. 

Harry turned around calming, knowing whom it would be. For a brief moment he wondered to himself what Merlin did to pass his time here. It must seem like years between Harry's visits. 

"Hello Merlin." 

"You seem worried?" Merlin asked wisely. 

"Its about a dream I had. Voldemort set a trap for the Order of the Phoenix and killed them all. I had this strange link to Voldemort… I could see through his eyes, and think his thoughts." 

"Many a time, I experienced the same thing." 

This both calmed and worried Harry at the same time. Was Merlin saying that it was a simple dream, or was Merlin saying that he has had premonitions of the future? 

"Will it come true, then?" Harry asked in a quiet voice. 

"Sometimes yes... Other times, no. What you saw was not the future, but a possibility." 

That was the sword through the heart. Even a tiny chance of the Order of the Phoenix being murdered was a tiny chance too much as far as Harry was concerned. 

Realistically, though, he had known all along that there was a chance that they would die – they were risking their lives every day. But of all the ways they could die… not that way. _Anything but that way. _

"Can… Can I stop it happening?" 

"You can." 

Finally, someone was tuning to his brainwave. 

"But not the way you are thinking, I dare say. Joining them will not save them. Just wait for the moment, you will know what to do." 

"So I sit around and do nothing, and hope that I stop it happening? What if, to prevent it from happening, I am supposed to join them?" 

"And what if, by joining them, you make it happen?" 

Stumped. Again. Harry was getting used to this – wiser people always seemed to have a way with winning arguments. Just like joining the Order of the Phoenix was out of his hands, saving them was as well. Maybe Voldemort was the only person in all of this that he would ever make sense of. 

Not for the first time, Merlin seemed to know what Harry was thinking. 

"You are gaining knowledge, Harry. With that knowledge, comes wisdom. I was once as you are now, but you seem to be dealing with things even better than I did at that young age." 

Harry nodded his head resolutely. He didn't feel much like talking. Despite the pain flowing through his body as bones mended, he wanted desperately to vent his anger at loosing a quidditch game. It was the first time that he had ever not managed to catch the snitch because of his own mistake. The dementors had caused him to loose once before, but that was out of his hands. He was the captain now – better things were expected of the captain. 

"Could I do some training?" Harry asked anxiously. Merlin took one look at his bandaged body, and seemed to consider for a moment – before nodding his head. He understood Harry's new reason for training. Not for the purpose of destruction, but instead of protection, and, as Merlin knew very well, that was the best thing to train for. 

"I sense that you are getting far stronger now Harry. Since defence is something you wish to work on, we will work on defending against curses." 

Harry smiled. This would be helpful. He pulled out his wand- 

"That will not be necessary. You will be defending yourself with your mind. No wand will be able to stop my curses." 

Harry gulped. Stopping spells fired by the greatest wizard of all time with his mind was not in his contract. But then again, neither was anything else… A few murderous hexes here and there couldn't make things much worse. 

Harry took a stance directly opposite Merlin, with his hands at his side, and his eyes trained carefully on Merlin. 

"Good. Don't take your eyes off me, and try to show no emotion. Showing emotion shows me how afraid you are, which gives me a mental advantage." 

Harry brought his mind into a more resolute mindset. 

"Excellent. Now this exercise will definitely test your seeker reflexes. We will start with some simple curses." 

Trying desperately to keep the worry out of his face, he silently prayed that Merlin's comment about seeker reflexes would be a test he would pass. 

Merlin waved his hand in an unimportant way, as though he were flicking some hair out of his eye. Harry's eyes followed it carefully, though, and he was not surprised when a beam of light shot at him. Without thinking, Harry sidestepped the curse and it flew past him, making what would amount to a small crater in the wall.  
  
"Well, you pass the seeker test, but if there were a person next to you they wouldn't be looking too good." Merlin said with a smile. 

Still awed by the force of the curse, Harry took his place again, feeling even more worried. Still, he relaxed his face. Calm. Calm. His self-control prevailed as his mind relaxed. He was alert, but not panicking. 

"Good, now I want you to reach out with your mind, as you did with apparating, and try to grab at the oncoming curse. You need to use your mind to push the curse away. I would recommend that until you have better control, you push the curse into the roof instead of trying to absorb it." 

Merlin shot another beam not unlike the last one, and Harry took aim with his mind, he tried desperately to push up, knowing that the beam was rapidly approaching… It wasn't moving though. Harry was going to become a crater if he didn't act soon… 

The curse followed its course and hit Harry, but all that happened was that Harry dropped to the floor laughing. It was a simple tickling charm. So much for becoming a crater, he thought dryly. 

"Not everyone gets it first time, Harry. I figured it would be better to be on the safe side." Merlin said with a small chuckle, removing the tickling charm. 

Harry took his place automatically. He had to succeed. The lives of millions of people depended on it.  
  
He looked at Merlin with determination and concentration. Merlin saw nothing of his emotions, just an intense steer. The boy really was getting somewhere, Merlin thought to himself. He had never caught on this fast.  
  
Again, the fragment of light shot out of Merlin's hand. Harry reached out with his mind, trying desperately to grab at what he could not see. He could feel its magical presence. The light grew nearer and nearer, but the course of the light seemed to adjust ever so slightly. He was slowly getting it there, very slowly… The light just cleared his shoulder. Instead of bouncing off simply as a tickling charm would, it smashed the wall to pieces just as Merlin's original shot had.  
  
"You have more faith in me than I do." Harry said simply, once again awed by how close he had come to death.  
  
"That, Harry, is because I know what you will become."  
  
And that ended the discussion. Harry took up his post again, and this time had more success. Shooting the light straight into the roof, and feeling a strong sense of accomplishment. He had achieved what he thought would take him years and years of learning. He had achieved what many aurors could not do. He could control the line of spells, and it hadn't taken much work.  
  
"Well done Harry. You must remember though, that even though you are on a level above and beyond that of all others, you are still not above Voldemort. Even when your magical levels surpass his, he will still be a great deal more experienced. Many a general has won a war where the odds stack against him. Experience is worth ten times strength."  
  
"I understand. Can you teach me to stop magic, instead of diverting it?"  
  
"Indeed I can Harry, but you must know that this will cause you a great deal of pain. You will get used to it over time. Fighting Voldemort will be no small task – Some of his stronger spells may be impossible for you to stop, and you are by no means immortal."  
  
Harry soon learnt exactly what Merlin meant when he said "It may hurt you." It was extremely painful stopping powerful curses. Merlin started easy with a tickling charm, which Harry managed to absorb easily, but then he sent some stronger curses, which were very difficult, and sometimes he had to simply allow them to hit him or dodge at the last second. Absorbing the curses was not easy to do. 

Harry was beginning to tire, but the slight slouch in his posture (which was mainly due to the fact that he didn't have shoulder bones at the time), was the only thing that gave away his obvious exhaustion. Ironed on his face was an expressionless look, which made him look like a picture-perfect secret agent out of some American film. He meant business, and even Merlin found himself to be slightly intimidated by Harry's expression. Being devoid of emotion made him look so… haunting. It was clear to Merlin though, someone who had read people's body language for hundreds of years, that he was fighting an inner battle against collapsing on the floor right there and then. 

They had made plenty of progress in the session. Harry had mastered deflected curses, and was able to absorb many of Merlin's powerful curses. It was painful even for Merlin to see Harry wincing as he took the pain of the curses, before replacing his face with its resolute mask. The boy showed determination that he had never seen before. Unbelievable dedication. The future of the light couldn't be in better hands. 

Merlin decided to call Harry's obvious torture and pain to an end. The boy wanted more, he wanted to be able to save lives, but it was just too painful to watch. 

"For someone trying to regrow bones at the same time, I must say you have done well Harry. Since you are almost falling over in exhaustion, I think it would be best that we stop there instead of tiring you further. Slowly, as you grow strong, you will be able to suspend curses and then fire them, back, even absorb curses so that they increase your power. All of these, you will learn in good time. Next time you visit I will teach you a number of useful spells, and some ways to sharpen up yours senses." 

Harry couldn't manage much more than a nod – he had gone through what he supposed was a few hours of training, and he was trying to regrow bones at the same time. Even though the bone regrowth was something he could handle, the pain from the curses that he could not absorb was not. For the first time he was thankful that he was forced to lie in a hospital bed and sleep. He apparated away from the small chamber, and appeared where he had been earlier – in the hospital. 

He quickly hopped into bed, and caught up on the sleep that he had missed the previous morning, pleased with himself for his training but still bitterly disappointed at loosing the quidditch. 

********************* 

Harry awoke suddenly to the same cool breeze, but something alarmed him. It wasn't the wind, blowing gently against his face, nor was it the moistness of his face, still sweaty from his intense exercise with Merlin. 

It was that there was something else in the room. 

He could hear this creature exhaling and inhaling, and he could feel something weighing down on his foot. 

He opened his eyes quickly, hoping that he could mentally fire a curse if he really needed to. His eyes shifted to the creature… Hermione? 

Sitting at the base of the bed with her head perched on his feet, lay the sleeping form of Hermione Granger. 

Hermione's eyes snapped open in alarm, but as she took in her surrounding she relaxed. 

"Good Morning, Harry." She said tiredly. 

"Good Morning… Morning?" Harry asked, greeting her and questioning the time of day at the same time. 

"Yes…" Hermione said, looking at him strangely, "It's breakfast time now. I woke up early to come and see how you were doing. Must have dozed off for a while." 

"Shall we head off to breakfast then?" Harry asked. 

"But Madame Pomfrey said your not supposed to be out until…" Harry held up a hand to stop her. 

"I trained for a few hours while my bones were regrowing, I'm sure I can manage a simple trip down to breakfast. If we have potions today… Well, I'm clearly too sick for that…" 

Hermione gave him her trademark Professor McGonagall look. 

"You shouldn't have been training! After the injuries you got in quidditch…" 

"Hermione, look, I'm fine. I really just… I needed to train, okay." 

Hermione dropped the scolding look, and smiled. "Since when have we ever had potions on a Sunday, anyway?" 

"Today is Sunday? Well, that's good. If you haven't noticed I sort of lost my bearings around about the time I woke up and didn't know where I was, which was yesterday, I think." 

Hermione smiled. She would never understand how Harry managed to do that. Even with so much on his shoulders, with so many pressures, he still somehow managed to act his age and joke around as anyone else would. 

"Err, Hermione, if your sick you should get into bed, otherwise you can join me on the way to dinner… err, breakfast." Harry called from the doorway. 

Hermione glared. 

"Okay, okay… Sorry, sorry…" Harry trailed, seeing the Professor McGonagall look flare up on Hermione's face. 

They soon made their way around to the great hall, and Hermione threw open the door and walked in just before Harry. 

The hall went dead silent as Hermione emerged, everyone looking over at her from whatever they were doing. They were all still buzzing with talk after the end of the quidditch game the day before, but silence immediately fell. 

As Harry emerged through the door, an enormous cheer went up – which sounded more like a roar. Harry frowned. He turned around, checking to make sure there wasn't anyone behind him. He had expected people to boo when he arrived after loosing the game, or if he was lucky maybe the silent treatment. He had never imagined this. 

The Slytherins were silent, which surprised Harry. He had expected them to point at him and laugh. They had got what they wanted to out of the game. It was no doubt very entertaining to see him crash into the ground. 

Before he made it to his seat, a goblet of pumpkin juice was pushed into his hand by one of the Weasley twins, and the Gryffindor quidditch team engulfed him. 

Never had he ever expected this. 

"Umm, what?" He asked no one in particular over the roar of noise. 

"Harry, let me be the first to break this to you," George said happily, "we won!" 

And **that** he had definitely not expected to be hearing. 

It appeared his act of bravery had converted the Hufflepuff table, whom were now chanting "Harry, Harry", and there was a very small minority of Ravenclaws that appeared to be rebelling from the celebration – all of whom were within radius of Cho Chang, who did not look happy at all. Much to the dismay of the teachers, he was hoisted onto the shoulders of the Weasley twins and taken for a victory lap around the great hall, with Gryffindor table erupting with noise. Dumbledore wore a small smile on his face and gave him a nod. Madame Pomfrey looked scandalous. 

Eventually the outpour of attention stopped, and Harry Potter, the king of Hogwarts, was deflated to Harry Potter, celebrity of Hogwarts. 

Sitting at his table, he couldn't help but ask, "What happened yesterday?" 

Ron answered. "Well, you caught the snitch, you were taken to the infirmary, and we had a party almost as big as the time we won the quidditch cup." Ron said simply. 

"Quidditch fever!" Lee Jordan screamed insanely, trying to emulate 'disco fever' and earning himself many weird looks. 

Everyone at Gryffindor table ate breakfast with lopsided smiles on their faces, with Harry giving handshakes to more people than he could count. Ron suddenly remembered something. 

"Harry, I forgot to tell you. I can't stay for Christmas." 

"You can't?" Harry asked, trying to keep disappointment out of his voice. 

Ron shook his head. "The Weasley family is having a Christmas dinner." 

At that, Hermione did something very un-Hermione-like. She giggled. Harry frowned, and looked quizzically at Hermione. 

"Sorry Ron. Do you have any idea how many Weasleys there are, Harry? They would need Hogwart's great hall to fit them all in." 

Harry laughed at that, and Ron hit Harry playfully on the arm. 

"I would have you guys come along as well, but it's quite a long way away from here, so Dumbledore wont let you go. Hermione could have gone, but she chose not to." 

With that he frowned, as did Harry. Both looked expectantly at Hermione. Harry couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to go to her boyfriend's Christmas dinner. 

"Its not fair on Harry to leave him here alone. You will be around family, Ron, so its only fair that he could at least be around friends." 

Harry was about to say that it was okay – she was welcome to go with Ron, but Hermione gave him a look as if to say no. Harry shut his mouth again, and looked between the two strangely. Ron nodded his head. 

The only thing Harry could think of that summed up the day was 'weird.' What was happening between Hermione and Ron? Would he be able to protect the Order of the Phoenix? And what a surprise the quidditch had been. Yes, a very weird day indeed. 

=======================  
  
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	15. Chapter 15 - Face Value

Harry Potter and the Pit of Time 

**Disclaimer:** _This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended._

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence that may unlock his past, and hold the key to his future. The fanfiction contains action, adventure, the Order of the Phoenix, Death Eaters, battles, quidditch, a unique plot and much much more! 

**Pre-Chapter Note:** Sorry for making the wait slightly long that I had hoped. Editing the chapter took a particularly large amount of time up, and the fact that I wrote all 7000 odd words of it in one night was very obvious. Hopefully it is in a far more presentable quality now though, and I hope you enjoy it. School has been a bit hectic now that I have gone back, but I will try and get the next chapter written and edited over the weekend, and published on Monday. Please comment on this chapter! I need opinions on what people think. Too much training? Is the training boring? Am I focusing on the relationship between Ron and Hermione too much/too little? And another thing: Do people want Harry in a relationship, and if so, with who? I have in my mind who I want Harry to end up with if this should turn into a 3 story series [which it could do, depending on interest], but along the way there are many more opportunities for things to work/fall appart. So please, leave your comments. Another thing: Are people interested in a sequel? I have a brief idea as to the plot of a sequel, but now is the that I would need to plan it out a bit better if there is to be one. There are still about 10+ chapters to go I estimate, but the plot of a sequel would need to merge into this one, so that it flows on from the end of this school year. Yes, I write this story for myself, but there are some issues [such as romance] which I am uncertain of. Things are hard to keep in perspective at times when you are writing something, as it is easy to get carried away with one area over another. **Please leave feedback!**

**Chapter 15:**

Harry Potter stood just outside the front doors of Hogwarts, with Hermione at his side. The two of them were waving frantically to their best friend Ron as he left for Christmas break. As he watched the horseless carriage disappear into the distance with a speck of red glinting from within it, he reflected on some of the more surprising and in many cases unanswered moments of the term just passed. One of these great mysteries was the undercurrent of tension between Ron and Hermione, and what was causing it. Leaving that aside, he also had no small amount of stress and pressure building up in him after the recent happenings, which involved events that, strangely enough, hadn't even taken place yet, and may not take place at all. 

Every time a teacher left the classroom, his chest begun to throb with worry, and his mind started to roll through the many worst-case scenarios - with sickening clarity. Hermione always gave him sympathetic looks, but she too looked rattled by the frequent disappearances of their teachers throughout each day, and the steadily increasing number of attacks that were plaguing the wizarding world. 

It was times like these that Harry felt bad for dumping all of this knowledge on Hermione, but if Hermione had a choice, he was sure that she would want to be kept informed. Another time of day that caused him no small amount of worry was nighttime. As he lay in bed sleeping the Order of the Phoenix could be dying, and this thought haunted him at the most inconvenient of times – he would occasionally have a sort of semi panic attack. Unfortunately, when Harry was mentally beating himself up for being so weak and having these mental attacks, he failed to consider that he was merely a fifteen year old, and that many full-grown witches and wizards have mental breakdowns at the thought of meeting a death eater – and they hadn't met Voldemort like Harry had. 

This mental disability was especially evidence at nighttime, where the dream came out to haunt him in full force – no matter how hard he tried, climbing into bed at night seemed to serve as a reminder as to the events which had played out before his eyes. 

Merlin's words of wisdom concerning the dream had done nothing to raise Harry's spirits. He honestly couldn't see how he would save them. He doubted anything could wake him up when he finally got into one of his good slumbers – though he would also admit that they were becoming more and more rare as the year progressed – he was yet to get a good nights sleep since the dream, and in his current state of mind he was under the impression that he wouldn't get a good one for a long time yet. 

Hermione seemed to be keeping special watch over Harry since the dream – she was constantly shooting worried glances in his direction, and telling him he needed to get more sleep. She had also bravely volunteered to listen to his fears and talk him through his depressing moments. He was infinitively grateful for this – at times it was the only thing keeping him sane. 

Perhaps the only good thing that had happened since the dream was the win over Ravenclaw, but even that had its 'negative effects' as far as Harry was concerned. It had promoted his social standing even further up the Hogwarts popularity chart, but it did nothing to his rank – you couldn't get any higher than first, and from the day that Harry Potter had first set foot in Hogwarts, that was exactly where he was. 

Harry hoped that the Christmas break would provide him with an opportunity to recuperate – which included catching up on some much-needed sleep. He was even hopeful that he could interact with people in a friendly manner – acting his age for once, instead of serious Voldemort or war discussion. He was, however, determined not to loose focus. He would not excuse himself from training, and that was his main priority. Christmas could be the perfect opportunity for Voldemort to put into action a large-scale attack, or set his trap for the Order – a trap that Harry knew the details of far better than he would have liked. 

"Harry?" A female voice asked, with no small degree of worry seeping through her words. 

Harry snapped out of his trance, and immediately realised that the female voice belonged to Hermione, whom had been standing next to him for some time now. The horseless carriages had disappeared long ago. 

"Sorry Hermione. My mind got the better of me…" He said sheepishly, trying to force the many painful and puzzling thoughts out of his mind so that he could enjoy the present moment. 

After a short conversation it was unanimously decided that the two would trade the cold crisp outdoor air for the luxurious common room, which possessed something that both of the two were particularly fond of, having been standing for 20 minutes in the cold dressed in light clothing – the common room fire. 

When they finally made it to the common room, Harry claimed the couch - practically throwing himself at the poor wooden object, and unconsciously doing what would be an accurate impersonation of somebody dropping dead. Hermione placed herself more gracefully in a chair, glancing at Harry to make sure he was indeed breathing. 

Harry examined the Gryffindor common room with a bored sort of interest. The common room was his place of refuge when he was particularly down or worried. The positive golden atmosphere was very much dead on this particular morning as Gryffindor tower stood empty except for the two. 

"What am I going to do?" Harry asked rhetorically, his voice full of worry, his thoughts uncontrollably wandering to the dream. 

"Cheer up Harry. You have a knack for getting out of these situations," Hermione said encouragingly, looking at him with a worry that betrayed her encouragement. 

That bought a small smile to Harry's face as he lay on the couch, eyes closed, "Luck seems to be on my side in these situations," he agreed. 

"Luck? I'm under the impression that luck has nothing to do with it. Especially now – look at the training your doing. If luck were ever on your side, you wont need it any more." 

"I think it is a matter of luck now though… I feel so… helpless. It's like drawing a lottery ticket. Whatever I do could be exactly what is needed to make what happened in the dream come true…" 

Hermione seemed to suddenly realise something, as she gave a sudden lurch forward in her chair, as though she had been electrocuted. 

"If You-Know-Who sets up a trap and the order were to fall for it, and you discover where it is, what will you do?" 

Harry took no time to consider his answer, but instead answered immediately, "I would apparate there and save them." 

Hermione's face fell, as though it was just as she had feared, "Ohh Harry, You can't! If you go there you could die! Eventually you will be more important in this war than even Dumbledore. You don't know what could happen if you were to show up in the battle…" 

"That is a risk I am prepared to take. I will not sit around and watch them die in the way that I saw in my dream. I couldn't live with myself." Harry answered this with a commanding tone that startled Hermione – she had never seen this in Harry before. It was clearly a scar of war, showing just how involved he had already been for the past four years, and proving that this war was nothing new to Harry – he had been fighting a war on a lesser scale ever since he entered the wizarding world. It was a tone of voice that made him sound every bit the army general, and Hermione found herself unable to argue the point – it was clear that Harry's stance would not waver. 

After a quiet silence, in which both Harry and Hermione thought quietly to themselves about how Harry would react to the dream – Hermione with a mixture of fear and worry, and Harry primarily with thoughts concerning how he would discover when they were attacked. Hermione's conclusion was that there was nothing she could do except be supportive, and Harry had concluded that he needed to further his training. 

"Hermione, I'll be back later." Harry said to Hermione, who still seemed to be deep in thought – this time about how she could help to prepare him. 

Hermione looked at him for a moment, then spoke, "Where can I find you if I need you?" 

"Err, I'm not sure…" 

Hermione raised an eyebrow, looking at him as though he were insane – a look he was not altogether unfamiliar with. 

"Well, the Pit of time's location is unknown…" Harry said slowly, trying to work out what planet Hermione was from. 

Hermione, realising that in the world of Harry Potter, things were never simple, slapped herself on the forehead in an 'I'm so stupid' gesture. 

After goodbyes were exchanged, Harry simply vanished, leaving Hermione to wonder how her best friend had grown up so fast. 

When the world came to be again for Harry Potter, it was in the face of an old, wise wizard that everyone in the wizarding world would like to meet. Merlin. Merlin made Albus Dumbledore look young, but there was something about the wise old man with the silver beard that made him seem full of life. He had very much become a mentor to the younger wizard. 

"Good to see you Harry, you look well." Merlin greeted with a smile. 

"I could be better, but I'm sure a little training with fix that." 

"I'm surprised to see you back so soon. After our last training session you didn't seem too well." 

Harry winced at the memory of their last training session, and then replied, "Tough times call for strong dedication." 

Merlin nodded, "Well, on with the training then. One of the things that you will need to work on now is your ability to catch onto a threat before it threatens you. You need to be observant, and always be optimistic about what your told. Don't accept the truth until you have evidence." 

Merlin then conjured up some chairs and proceeded to lecture Harry on the various ways of catching sight of threats and thinking, as Moody's fake had put it, with constant vigilance. Merlin's lecture, to put it simply, was all about what sorts of things to look for in potentially dangerous situations. The lecture made a walk in the park suddenly become one of the most complicated things in the world. 

Merlin was an excellent teacher though, and he kept Harry's attention and established procedures for doing things such as scanning areas for threats, reading another person's body language, and how to keep your own thoughts unreadable by not giving away too much through body language. Harry learnt a variety of ways to discretely check for safety, including a very interesting 'invisible mirror' spell that Merlin taught him to accompany it. The lesson was basically one of nothing but theory, which both annoyed and relieved Harry at the same time. Merlin clearly saw the mental strain beginning to show in him, and so he had decided to give him a break. Still, Harry had wanted to push on and forward in his training. 

After the theory side was taken care of, Merlin seemed to read Harry's mind yet again, and the lesson took a turn to the practical side of things. Harry was taught a number of spells that would help him considerably in the face of danger. Again, Merlin insisted that Harry do them wandlessly. Harry had argued the point, and suffered another defeat at the hands of somebody wiser than himself. 

"What's the point of making things, harder than they need to be? I might as well just _use_ my wand." Harry had said exasperatedly, remembering the close encounters that had resulted from his wandless previous lesson. 

"In a battle situation, a wand is a hindrance. You give the enemy warning of the type of spell you are sending, you have to remember a considerably more complex spell, and you yourself Harry, must know that a wand war between you and Voldemort wouldn't work too well." 

Harry had just nodded his head. Prior Incantium was a problem that had helped him last time, but the possibility of things falling unfavourably on him next time was not a gamble that he was willing to take. He had to be able to fight Voldemort without the 'luck' factor. 

Harry had begun to expand his horizons during the particularly knowledge intensive lesson, which droving him to his limits yet again. Merlin put him through a particularly intensive obstacle course after telling him of some relatively difficult elemental curses, which effectively allowed him to shoot any element he wanted at his attacker. Harry had been stunned when Merlin had told him about them, having been a believer that such things were impossible. And that they were, if you used a wand, Merlin had explained with a smile. 

So here Harry was, face to face with a rough looking course, which had been summoned curtesy of Merlin. Essentially, Merlin he built a maze in the middle of the Pit of Time. Harry would have asked why Merlin hadn't just made them battle face to face, but he thought better of it – his track record in questioning his mentor did not look favourably on that course of action. 

It wasn't a big maze, but the sight of it bought an uncomforting feeling to the surface of his stomach, as he was reminded painfully of the events of last year. He had made himself an unspoken promise, all those months before, that he wouldn't enter another maze ever again. Realistically though, he had entered into a maze the second Voldemort had come after him when he was a baby. Cedric's death had just been a dead end. 

What Harry would have to do was face off against Merlin's 'illusions'. His attacker would attack with a particular element or curse, and he needed to use the countering element to defeat it. 

His instructions were, oddly enough, not to attack his attacker, but to instead counter the attack. Whatever element was fired at him, he would need to use an element that was stronger to counter it. If his attacker used an ordinary curse, he would need to use the appropriate shield to stop it, or, if possible, absorb it. To make matters worse, Merlin's Illusions could be anything. They could vary from a shadow in the darkness to a smiling Snape. Yes, anything was possible. 

He entered the maze and rounded the corner to find himself face to face with a ghost – not a particularly difficult test in his intelligence skills, he though, relaxing for the moment on that front. He walked cautiously up to the transparent figure, which looked oddly bored to see him. No sooner was he half way to the ghost, however, than he **felt **a curse fired at his back. He hadn't physically felt it, though the sudden shock in his mind had made him think so. Automatically, he dived to his left, and a particularly furious looking orb of fire shot past him. He waved his hand very deliberately in the direction of the fire, and watched with grim satisfaction as it was put out by a wave of water. 

His reaction had been instantaneous when his very powerful mind picked up the magical disturbance behind him. He had flung himself out of the way in a move that made his seeker reflexes look very lax. Unfortunately, his sudden need for a spectacular dive could have been avoided had he not been so trusting. Harry learnt his lesson straight away – nothing is as it seems. 

When he had successfully countered the curse that attacked him, he whipped around to face the attacker. His attacker had disappeared almost the second that he had laid eyes on it, leaving Harry to wonder what on earth it actually was. It wasn't that Harry hadn't got a good look at it… No - it was just that Harry couldn't identify something that looked like a cross between a Blast-End Skrewt and a butterfly. 

He approached the ghost equally as cautiously, but this time his eyes used some of the search techniques Merlin had talked of. He was alert, and his determination was at an all-time high after making a mistake first time around. Harry had transfigured a small square into the palm of his hand that worked perfectly like a mirror. He would look casually at his hand occasionally, or make motions to rub at an injured finger. As he moved the hand on different angles it gave him a quick flash of the immediate area. 

The ghost seemed to suddenly wake up and see him for the first time. It wasted no time before shooting a particularly painful looking blue coloured curse at him. He waved his hand again and the curse rebounded harmlessly off it into the wall of the maze – a brick substance that held firmly against the blast. The ghost disappeared immediately, and Harry continued. 

He settled into the pattern Merlin had told him to establish as he rounded the corner, processing every bend in the path, every speck of dust in with a critical optimism, his mind keenly digging into the tight path, searching for anything that might tip off the location of a threat. He was in his element, he felt born to do this. 

To provide any possible attackers with a chance to blend in, many objects and small creatures lay scattered on the ground. Many appeared harmless, but others looked slightly more daunting. Harry was careful to pay more attention to the small, wobbly creatures on the ground – Merlin had told him that in many cases the most underestimated of targets were the most dangerous. A threat suddenly seemed to announce its presence. 

What had been a crack in the wall of the maze had suddenly become a hole the size of a human's head, and from it a block of ice shot right at him. Harry immediately raised a hand, causing the ice to turn very suddenly to water, and splash harmlessly on the ground. 

Harry had identified that as a minor threat, but he hadn't expected it to really be a secret sort of chamber in the wall. He realised that he needed to think creatively. Anything was possible. 

He continued on cautiously, coming to a bend in the path, with the option of a left or a right turn. He marvelled for a moment at how big the Pit of Time really was, but then realised that if you were Merlin, you didn't exactly have the city council complaining that you took up too much space. 

Realising that he had no rules prohibiting him from using his mind – a tool that he was finding to be more and more useful – he decided to try and mentally conclude which path would be the better option of the two. 

As had happened when he mentally hacked the password to his headmaster's office, the answer was immediate: left. He wondered why he couldn't just mentally grab a map of the area, but he supposed that his mind wasn't able to grab diagrams. As it was, he probably subconsciously translated it into understandable language. 

He continued along the path without meeting anyone or anything, before coming across another choice: take another left turn, or keep going. His logical judgement was take another left turn – if he kept spiralling in he would be in the middle faster, but, after conferring with his mental ability, it was decided that his best plan of action would be to go straight. 

His next threat he managed to pick out before it managed to attack him. A snake and a griffin were staring each other down, looking on the verge of an all fight for their life. Harry had suspected the griffin would turn on him, and that it had. The griffin had whirled around and opened its mouth to roar at him. Instead of a noise escaping his mouth, however, water was suddenly propelled at him. Harry had reached by raising his hand and turning it to ice, but then a realisation had dawned on him: The water would turn to ice, and still have the momentum to hit him. So, with that in mind, he had been forced to melt the ice as well, thus turning it back into water. It had got so close to him though, that the water ended up soaking him anyway, even though most of the water had fallen directly down as the fire melted away the ice. 

Harry continued through the maze, meeting up with a vast variety of opposition, and dealing with them appropriately, with the occasional misfortune. He was thankfully yet to hit a dead end. 

Finally, he came around what he thought would be the final turn, and found himself face to face with about 20 students. All of them he knew by name, and most were in his year. He found himself looking into the eyes of Draco Malfoy and a number of his Slytherin buddies, a number of Ravenclaw friends of Cho's not too far away. Further along were a few friendly Hufflepuffs, and there were handful of Gryffindors. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, Dean, Neville… And the list went on. 

His eyes carefully watched the group of Slytherins, especially Draco Malfoy, who was clearly scheming something. He surveyed them all closely, paying particular attention to Cho's group, whom he knew would also have good reason to attack him. He noticed Malfoy had his wand on him, as he saw a very faint crease in the side where an inner pocket was present. Nobody else seemed to be. 

Abruptly, a hex that was very green, and very well known to him was fired. It was the very curse that had killed both of his parents. Harry turned to the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors – the direction the curse had come from. He was so shocked by his attacker's identity that he momentarily forgot to stop the curse – Hermione had just fired Avada Kedavra at him. He then realised how effective the test was, because he had immediately trusted them on what he knew about them, instead of being suspicious towards everyone equally. His mind suddenly riveted back to the murderous curse as he realised that it was just moments away from hitting him. He quickly used his power to fling Avada Kedavra over his head – he didn't have time for a shielding charm. It had been his last minute attempt to revert the powerful and deadly curse. The curse missed his head by mere inches, and crashed into the wall – exploding with a force that confirmed his assessment – it had been the killing curse. 

Harry entered the room that the group of students had been guarding and looked suspiciously at his prize – a trophy, of all things. Next to it was a door that was clearly the exit to the maze. There seemed to be two options in the room - trophy in the middle of the room or the exit door just beyond it. Knowing Merlin the trophy would be a portkey. Harry had a choice. Accept the trophy or use the exit. What was supposed to do? Get though the maze and exit, or accept the prize? Harry thought back to Merlin's words. He was supposed to 'win the maze'. Winning it would mean accepting the trophy. 

Even though he knew Merlin would never portkey him to a graveyard and make him fight Love Voldemort, and the chances of there being a security breach in here were excessively remote, accepting the trophy still gave him a very dismal feeling. Firstly was the feeling that he didn't deserve it, but at the same time the feeling that at least the consequences of this would not cause anyone else to go through the same thing. 

He reached out and touched it, and found himself face to face with Merlin again. Merlin smiled down at him with a considerable amount of pride, and Harry smiled back, feeling as though he had accomplished something. 

"Alright, back you go." Merlin said, causing Harry to briefly loose his balance and stare in disbelief, before realising Merlin was serious. Still, it had its benefits. He had the opportunity to get a fresh start, and do a better job than last time. He would not slip up this time. 

****************** 

Harry was tired after doing the maze for what seemed liked the hundredth time. Merlin had forced him to repeat the course five times, which had been a test of his fitness, as the course seemed to get harder as Harry got better at it - it was growing as Harry's ability grew. Still, he couldn't help but feel a stab of pride in his heart as he compared how well he had done the first time, to how well he had done in his last attempt in the maze. He had greatly improved. 

"There were a number of things which you did wrong, but they were all mistakes that we all make when we are learning. You ultimately need to thing more creatively. Think what you would do if you were hiding, and then adapt it into the mind of an enemy. And do not be trusting." 

Harry nodded. 

"I truly am impressed by your effort today. I have known for a few decades now that you would come in the future, and because of that I planned out how I would teach you based on the ability you would have. Unfortunately in these calculations I left off the ability that you may develop due to unforeseen circumstances, and I must say that your determination and past experiences have made you learn faster than I had ever expected. Next time you come here, I think it would be best that I accelerated things somewhat, and we check to see what sort of animagi capabilities that you have." 

The word made Harry stop for a second, and pay tribute to his late father. The world Animagi was a word that Harry had mentally assigned in his 'things that remind me of my dad' category. The thought that he, like his father, would learn to be an animagi made him swell with pride. 

The rest of the lesson was spent learning a few curses, and Merlin going over the flaws that he saw in Harry's technique. All in all it had been a very profitable lesson. 

When Harry finally made his way back to the common room, feeling tired from the particularly harsh obstacle course, mentally drained from using his mind to navigate the maze and having listened to so much magical theory that it made his mind hurt, all he wanted to do was collapse in the nearest chair and fall asleep. 

Hermione had other ideas. 

"Back so soon?" She asked, Hermione asked merrily. 

"If you call 5 hours soon, then I suppose so," Harry said with a glare. 

"Harry, let me be the first to break it to you, but you've been gone for 30 seconds at most." 

Harry slapped a hand to his head – not unlike Hermione had done earlier, as he remembered the whole time difference thing. He felt like collapsing and going to bed there and then, but realistically it was just after lunchtime. 

The day passed by in a blur for Harry, as he spent it playing exploding snap and chess with Seamus Finnigan while jokily creating a game which he thought would be a Hogwarts hit: Exploding Snape. 

Hermione also managed to bend him enough to make him do some homework, which there was no getting out of. He had to do the homework and hand it in after Christmas break, and that was that. At least if he was doing it next to Hermione, the answers suddenly weren't so hard to get… when you pretended to figure them out with Hermione correcting you. 

****************** 

A few days after his last training episode, Harry and Hermione were sitting in the common room when Hermione seemed to have sudden inspiration. 

"Harry lets go to the Astronomy Tower." She said suddenly. 

"Yeah… Err, what? The Astronomy Tower?" Harry asked, suddenly waking up from his nap on the couch and raising and eyebrow at Hermione. It was common knowledge what happened up _there_. 

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Potter." Hermione said as McGonagall-like as was livingly possible without being the real thing. 

"Can I question your motives, miss?" Harry asked, having shrunken back into his couch. 

"Its just to talk, Harry. The common room has ears." 

Harry's eyes did a sweep of the room, and they came to rest on a number of first years, which he discovered, to illustrate Hermione's point, were blushing and looking randomly around the common room. 

Harry and Hermione quickly got up to leave, and, Harry mused, were about to be the first male and female to ever set foot together in the Astronomy Tower at this time of day without the intentions of doing anything 'physical'.

When they finally made it there Harry hung back and let Hermione direct the traffic. She did so expertly, walking up the door and entering. She came out looking appalled. 

"Malfoy is up there with Pansy Parkinson," she reported, shaking her head as if to clear a particularly disturbing image, "I guess we'll have to go back to the common room." 

Harry wasn't prepared to give up so easily however, and grabbed her hand, before trying something he had never done before, and apparating them onto the roof of the Astronomy Tower. 

The instant he arrived on the slippery roof, he wandlessly cast a number of well-chosen spells. Hermione looked suspiciously at him, suddenly realising that it was considerably warmer than it should be at the coldest time of the year. Infact, it seemed like the middle of summer. 

"A few well picked spells did the trick." Harry said with a smirk. 

"How did you manage to heat an outdoor place like this though?" Hermione begun, clearly amazed by his magical exhibition. 

"A simple spell which made it air tight, combined with a heating charm, and making oxygen apparate in, while apparating out the carbon dioxide." Harry said, as though it were nothing at all. 

"What a good idea! Would you mind me asking what other spells you have cast? Particularly in the way of keeping our location discrete. I can't help but notice how easy it is to see you out here, somebody down there could see us too…" 

"Invisibility charm, silencing charm around us, a cushioning charm on the ground…" 

"Your training certainly has pushed your magical abilities forward a long way," Hermione remarked. Harry was especially surprised to see that her praise was very much authentic. She didn't sound jealous, and yet she had every right to be. 

"It's not easy," Harry said gravely, thinking back to Merlin and his training. 

Suddenly Harry had a very interesting thought. There may yet be a way to thank Hermione for her loyalty and friendship through this hard time. While Harry might not be able to give her the training experience that he had gone through, there was still the possibility of giving her something she would cherish almost as much – a chance to speak with history's most well known wizard. He decided he would ask Merlin next time he went there, and if it were all right, he would go back and get Hermione. 

Out of the blue, Hermione sprung up conversation. 

"I don't see you walking around with a girl on your shoulders these days Harry… Might there be somebody that I don't know about?" 

Harry's critical mind pointed out that Hermione had changed the topic, and he immediately saw where the conversation was heading: Ron. Hermione knew that he wasn't romantically involved with anyone, but while the topic was girlfriends and boyfriends she could swing it around to Ron. 

"Unfortunately not, and I suppose I can't say the same about you?" Harry said with a smile. 

"No, me and Ron are still going out, sorry to disappoint you there, Harry." Hermione said, returning the smile. 

Right on cue, he thought, now its time for me to ask how things are going so that she can tell me. 

"So how are things going?" Harry asked casually, knowing that the conversation had probably been planned out in her very precise mind well before the suggestion had been made to come to the Astronomy Tower. What he wouldn't give for the opportunity to 'turn off' the skills which Merlin had taught him in moments like this. Even if he could though, he would still need to keep them on. He had to be watching for anything at all where ever he went. 

Hermione looked out over the stars, before turning back to Harry, "Things could go better… It's just… It's hard. I care about him, perhaps even love him, but sometimes being around him is just… torture. Sometimes it's a unique and fun experience – especially when we started out, but now… Now it seems to just get worse and worse." 

Harry just nodded dumbly. He knew when Hermione had asked him to come with her to the Astronomy Tower that there was a sensitive and important issue being bought up, but he had never expected her to say things between her and Ron weren't working. In his eyes, it seemed to be. He had been so happy for them - they deserved each other… They cared about each other. So when he saw that they were Happy, it made him Happy as well. _But what about when one isn't enjoy it?_ That would mean that only one of them was happy… And he didn't want to side with one over the other. He wanted them _both_ to be happy. 

"Harry, what should I do…? What would you do…?" Hermione said, pleading. She sounded very desperate. To bring Harry into this, while knowing what he had on his plate, things were obviously worse than she was letting on. He knew Ron would never harm her, but things clearly just weren't going the way she had hoped. 

Harry pondered what advice he could give her. He wasn't a romance expert… He would have laughed if anyone else had come to him and asked him for romantic advice. Compared to Voldemort, finding his life-long partner really wasn't high up there on his to-do list. Hermione coming him to advice, however, was something he could not laugh off. It was something he took very seriously. Well, if I were Ron, what could a possible problem be…? Maybe I don't know that what I'm doing is hurting her? Maybe I think she's enjoying it when she really hates it? 

He thanked his very hard-working mind, before turning back to the woman before him, who looked worried about the future of her relationship. 

"Does Ron know that things aren't working out…? Have you talking to him about it?" 

Hermione looked at him and then said, "I presume he knows… I don't think he enjoys it either. When we argue though, we just don't back down. He seems to think that since he is the male in the relationship he has to win… But most of the time he is wrong. He just never accepts it." 

Harry nodded sympathetically. He had to do something to help her. She needed his friendship now, just as he had needed hers, and would no doubt need it in the future. Despite his gut instinct that warned him against getting involved, he wanted them to succeed, wanted them to be happy. 

"Maybe we're just too young…" Hermione said sadly, paining Harry to see her so. She wasn't seeing the dreams that she had when she was a child. Dreaming about being swept off her feet by prince charming… Of all the people, Hermione _deserves_ that. 

"Hermione, I didn't want to get involved in this, but you've convinced me. I'll have a word to Ron about it. I just sort of… I don't know. I know, I'll ask him how he is finding the relationship, and then give him the impression that you might not be enjoying it as much. I'll recommend talking to you about it… Saying that it's just… better to keep in touch with your partner to make things go better. Yeah, that's it. I should be a councillor," Harry said the last part with a grin. Harry Potter… The councillor. He would never have a client shortage – a large number of people would pay money just to have the brief conversation with him. Unfortunately, while the comparatively simple life of a councillor was very appealing, he had a greater purpose in life. 

Finally, he had cashed in. He was rewarded when Hermione flung her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. They held the embrace for a long while, before mutually deciding to return to the Astronomy Tower. He did a quick mental check to see if the coast was clear, and his brain confirmed that it was. 

Harry apparated them both back into the doorway outside the Astronomy Tower. Unfortunately, while Harry's brain may have told him that the coast was clear, it didn't happen to add, that the door was opening. Draco Malfoy's pale eyes gleamed at the sight of them. 

"Well if it isn't Scarface and his mudblood girlfriend," he said rather unpleasantly, "and would you look at this, they're coming to have a late night snog in the Astronomy Tower. Or maybe to watch the master to see how it's done?" Malfoy added as an afterthought, which made Harry feel sick. Hermione seemed to be looking at him in shock, and Harry understood why. She had expected to be forced to withhold Harry from attacking Malfoy, but Harry had calmly accepted the taunt for trouble. 

Hermione was the first to recover from the rather disgusting feeling that both of them were feeling at the thought of Draco Malfoy kissing someone. 

"Kissing Harry? Yes Draco, what a wonderful idea. As if. No offence Harry." 

"None taken." Harry said cheerfully, but beyond that, he was watching Draco Malfoy very carefully. 

"What would such an odd combination be doing here then…? But of course, what could be better than watching Draco Malfoy kissing." Clearly somebody needed to deflate his ego, which was threatening to make both Harry and Hermione vomit every time the words 'Malfoy' and 'kissing' came up in the same sentence. Hermione took the initiate, as Harry wasn't giving in to the bait. 

"Ohh I don't know… Cleaning the toilets, vomiting, jumping off the Astronomy Tower…" Hermione begun, launching into a list of things she considered better than kissing a Malfoy, and sounding very honest. 

Malfoy did not look amused. Infact, he stomped off angrily, clearly disappointed that his punch line had failed to land. Pansy followed obediently behind him. Harry couldn't help feel sorry for her… a little. 

Harry turned to Hermione and joined her in the long march back to the tower. Sadly, he had failed to become the first male ever to enter the Astronomy Tower after midnight with a female while not intending to snog her senseless. 

==============================

**Anyone that wishes to recieve an e-mail when a new chapter is published, please leave your e-mail address in a review!**

Please look at the author's note/chapter note at the beginning of this chapter. It has a few things I need people to comment on, including the possiblity of a sequel, questions about Harry starting a romance, opinions on his training with Merlin, etc, which I desperately need feedback on.


	16. Chapter 16 - The effects of war

Harry Potter and the Pit of Time 

**Disclaimer:** _This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended._

**Summary:** Harry's fifth year. Strange beginnings, people suddenly appearing before him, Voldemort's return, and a super natural presence that may unlock his past, and hold the key to his future. The fanfiction contains action, adventure, the Order of the Phoenix, Death Eaters, battles, quidditch, a unique plot and much much more! 

**Pre-Chapter Note:** This chapter is out very late, almost a month since I last updated. Hopefully the fact that it is approximately 7,000 words long can make up for that slightly. I can offer no real explanation except that I've had a few assessments very recently, which have taken up more of my time than I had expected. I hadn't expected the time to be taken up, as we are currently having new qualifications introduced here in New Zealand. The qualifications haven't been too tough on my spare time, its just been that writing these internal assessments, which can sometimes last an entire week, is very tiring, and I found it difficult to motivate myself to get this chapter out. A three-day weekend presented itself on the weekend, so I enjoyed the first two days, and I write most of this Chapter on the last day. My chapters seem to be getting longer, and my endurance as an author has picked up. This chapter and the previous chapter were both done in approximately a night, with bits and pieces being done earlier. 

Another reason for the lateness was actually because I ended up doing a great deal of planning for the store. As people make suggests or commends, I constantly look for new ways to spice up the storyline, and add things, which I could expand on in a sequel. Sorry for this break time, but after the break from writing, I think that the story in the low run will benefit from it. 

Please review and leave feedback. There are possibilities for a sequel, but I may not pursue those possibilities as yet, so any opinions on that would be appreciated. If you have any ideas, feel free to e-mail me on k3nny@paradise.net.nz - I'm open to any comments at all. Similarly, feel free to contact me over MSN on mythx1@hotmail.com or over icq on 15722456 if you have any queries about the story, or would just like to chat. I also haven't settled on a ship for this story. The ship of the story will really depend on if I write a sequel or not. If I don't write a sequel, I have a number of other story ideas, which I may expand on, or I may take a break between this story and its sequel, pursuing another idea. 

Please note that there may be grammatical errors or other such mistakes. I have never been a big editor of my own work, and I don't have a beta-reader, but since I haven't written in a while I may be a bit rusty. If you see any errors, please note them in a review. Thanks in advanced. 

**Chapter 16:**

Harry Potter was lurched out of his dreams very suddenly as somebody with the enthusiasm of a six-year-old jumped up and down at the foot of his bed. He had got perhaps the best nights sleep since that foundation-shaking dream, and he was clearly not amused. He grabbed for the nearest object – eyes still shut, and threw it at the person, before rolling over and attempting to return to his dreamless slumber. 

The person clearly hadn't gotten the reaction that he or she had been expecting, and continued to jump up and down on his bed, but this time yielding the pillow that Harry had so stupidly handed over. 

Harry groaned, defeated, and sat up in his bed. He looked up at his perpetrator, and discovered that he was staring into the chocolate-brown eyes of Hermione Granger. Of all the people Harry had expected to be so full of life, it hadn't been her. He was momentarily shocked, before finally beginning to process what she had been saying while his mind was getting over its original surprise. 

"It's Christmas Harry! It's Christmas Harry!" Harry raised a hand to silence her, remembering that today was indeed Christmas. 

"Happy Christmas Hermione," Harry said pleasantly, having immediately forgiven her for waking him up. 

"Happy Christmas Harry," She returned. She was smiling merrily and looking genuinely happy. 

In the time that had followed their Astronomy Tower rendezvous, Harry had been paying close attention to her, because he was concerned about her after the whole Ron thing. She had been in a real mess during that late night visit to the Astronomy Tower, and it had pained Harry to see her so. A person as great as Hermione Granger deserved to have her dreams go the way she wanted. 

Harry was happy to let her know he cared – he was forever in her debt for all the things she had done for him without hesitation over the years that they had known each other. 

After Hermione had left and Harry had quickly changed into some muggle clothes, he joined her in the common room next to the cosy fire. Harry was stunned by the sheer number of Christmas presents addressed to him. 

The Gryffindor team seemed to have chipped in and got him a new set of quidditch robes with 'Captain Potter' written on the back instead of the usual 'Potter'. 

Ron had given him a book on the Chutney Cannons. Sirius had given him some parchment that wrote down your thoughts. From Ginny he had received a diary, which he frowned at for a moment, before briefly writing in it, to make sure it didn't write back. Hermione's gift had been strange. She had given him a small pendant that looked very much homemade. On the back was engraved 'Best friend in the world.' Harry wasted no time putting it on, and thanked her endlessly for it. It meant a lot to him to know that she valued his friendship as much as he valued hers. 

Christmas at Hogwarts was always plenty of fun, as there were a vast variety of activities taking place. One of these activities was the somewhat tradition incident between staff and students, which fifth, sixth and seventh years generally chose to participate in. The small student body present of about twenty students were to take on the staff in a battle that was the students' one chance at 'getting back' at their teachers. Still, whenever somebody got near Snape, he would always have a look that dared people to attack him. So, in the end people tended to result to the 'attack him when he can't see you' strategy. Nobody could miss the opportunity of attacking Severus Snape. 

Despite him being just a fourth yeah last year, the many Gryffindor senior students had offered him to come along – Fred and George Weasley had been positively glowing at the prospect of letting Harry loose on Snape, but he had chosen not to in light of all the students that were hostile towards him because of him and Cedric both being Triwizard champions for Hogwarts. 

This year, lacking the presence of Ron, he felt uncompelled to attend as well. He glanced at Hermione, whom seemed to have taken this opportunity to do homework. The one thing Harry couldn't understand was how she managed to do homework more efficiently and quickly than Harry ever did it, and yet always being doing it. Perhaps she did it over and over again? Or she was 'exercising her mind' by doing writing essays on the topics that they hadn't covered yet. 

One thing that Harry had a particular want to do was to visit Hogsmeade. He couldn't remember visits ever being cancelled, but then again he hadn't been there at the beginning of the first term, and after Voldemort's resurrection, he doubted very much that they were going to risk trips to Hogsmeade – there was a war going on, after all. 

Still, that didn't quench his thirst for a good butterbeer, and what better way to spend christmas than sitting in the three broomsticks, having something to eat and sipping away at the wonderfully warming drink. 

"Hermione, how would you like to come with me to Hogsmeade?" Harry asked her quietly, glancing around suspiciously as he said so. The common room seemed empty so far. 

Hermione's eye raised suspiciously, not unlike Harry's had when she had asked Harry if he wanted to go to the Astronomy Tower. 

Realising that Hermione had misunderstood, he decided to clarify the point. 

"Mind out of the gutter, Granger," He said firmly, trying (and failing) to imitate Professor McGonagall, "It's just for a drink of butterbeer." 

"Harry, you know we're not allowed to go to Hogsmeade! It's not a Hogsmeade weekend! And they have been cancelled this year, remember?" Hermione screeched at him. 

"I didn't hear anything about that…" Harry said mischievously. 

"It's far too dangerous for you to be seen in Hogsmeade! The visits were cancelled for a reason! There could be death eaters walking around, it's not safe…" 

"I hate to sound arrogant, Hermione, but do remember that I've hard a rather vigorous amount of training lately. I could handle a death eater if it came down to it, but the chances of it ever going that far are relatively slim with my apparation abilities anyway." 

Harry could see that Hermione, like him, wanted to get away from the tense, war stained atmosphere of Hogwarts for a while just as much as he did. He was perfectly capable of taking care of them, but convincing Hermione of it was another thing… 

To his surprise though, Hermione seemed to be nodding. That was certainly easier than Harry had expected. He had been worried that he would have to waste time by proving it to her. Maybe his magical expedition on top of the Astronomy Tower had convinced her. 

Harry was about to apparate both of them out of the empty common room, when it came to his attention that both he and Hermione would easily be recognised in Hogsmeade as Hogwart's students, and more importantly, as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. 

Doing things wandlessly, while being far more physically draining without a wand to conduct the power, was actually a lot easier. With all the magical training he had done recently, a complicated illusion charm would change their appearance to other people. Harry focused strongly on merging his appearance with that of… What did he want to look like? Nothing that caught anyone's attention… He imagined himself taller, without a scar, with blond hair and blue eyes. He looked over at Hermione, who looked thunderstricken by what had taken place before her eyes. 

"Looking good," she said with a smile. Harry rolled his eyes. 

He then changed Hermione into an older looking version of herself, giving her dark black hair that came down to her shoulders, and emerald green eyes. He quickly conjured up a mirror and turned it to face her. She looked rather flattered by her new appearance. 

"Meet the girl version of yourself, Harry" She said, still admiring herself in the mirror. Harry's mouth dropped open in horror. He hadn't made the connection. He had somehow absentmindedly given her many of the features that he himself possessed. 

"This is weird," then an idea struck him. Perhaps allowing me to see through the illusion charm, and her to see through my one, Harry thought. Yes, definitely the best way. 

A look of disappointment crossed Hermione's face as she realised that she was no longer looking at Harry Potter, the girl who lived. 

"We were just beginning to get acquainted," she said sulkily, looking disappointingly at Harry, and then realising that he too, was his normal old self, "What did you do? You wrecked it…" 

"We can see through the illusion charms. You have no idea how weird it is looking at a girl version of yourself." 

Giving Hermione no more chance to reply, he waved a hand, and the two found themselves outside the three broomsticks. 

They both walked in quickly, getting out of the morning chill as fast as possible. Harry had also changed their robes in his changing process, and so they blended in just fine. 

The atmosphere was very much a change from that of the one at Hogwarts, which was very tensed up. Teachers disappearing from classes, news of the war being told daily, and painful stories of friends and family being murdered or injured, all in all, these incidents made it very never racking at times, especially for Harry and Hermione, whom were both aware of a painful and brutal possible outcome. 

The dream, which Harry tried to keep his thoughts aware from as little as possible, was a huge eye opener for Harry, who had not realised the full implications of the war until that moment. He had chosen not to comprehend the ways it might affect people around him, but he was forced to comprehend graphically a very major and devastating possibility. 

They quickly were allocated a table for two in a more private area of the pub, and ordered a bite to eat. Harry felt particularly happy with no body noticing him out in public. Hermione, however, wasn't so trusting in Harry's powers, and kept glancing around, expecting to be suddenly recognised by somebody in the pub for a Hogwarts student. 

"Its okay, Hermione. It will hold up until I stop it. I don't even have to maintain this with my mind as I had to with the invisibility when we went up the Astronomy Tower." Harry said quietly, making sure that nobody heard him say her name. 

Hermione gave a small nod. Harry thought it was in recognition of what he had said, but then realised that he had been mistaken. She was nodding at something that was _behind_ him. Harry listened very carefully, and turned ever so slightly towards the more central part of the pub. It looked like he was innocently surveying the room, but what he was really doing was eaves dropping. 

An even better idea struck him, as he turned back to Hermione, and quickly transfigured a small mirror in the palm of his hand, as he had done in the Pit of Time. He looked carefully into his hand briefly – which looked exactly like a hand to anyone else that looked at it, and saw that Nott was sitting at a table, with Crabbe and Goyle's fathers. The three of them seemed to be looking over some parchment, Nott occasionally saying something quietly while Crabbe and Goyle nodded idiotically in agreement. 

Harry magnified his hand, desperate to get a good view of their plan. He got a glimpse, but what he saw was very general. It looked like a road map of a main street, with notes scribbled on it. It could be anywhere… Diagon Ally, here in Hogsmeade, even a muggle street. Whatever this document was, Harry's gut feeling was that it was important – _very important_. Harry's gut instinct was a very accurate and precise form of intelligence, but it lacked the fine-tuning that he required of it in moments like this one. There was something big about this, but Harry's mind seemed unable to translate the significance. 

He twisted his hand to try and get a better view, but a very tactful ploy by Nott meant that Nott's hand now stood as a barrier between Harry and the parchment. The death eaters were going over their plan – whatever it was – in extreme detail, but this did nothing to aid Harry, to the contrary, it raised his frustration by simply underlining his gut instinct. 

Turning to Hermione, Harry grimaced slightly, and discovered that her expression mirrored what he presumed would be on his own face. 

"This could spell trouble." He said worriedly, glancing around the small pub. 

Fate would have it that trouble wouldn't happen for the moment, as the death eaters stood and abandoned their table, leaving the three broomsticks without disturbing anything, but making sure that their exit was bought to the attention of the customers. 

Hermione looked a bit shaken at the sight of the death eaters, and Harry passed on the bit of information that he had tactfully extracted. He himself had been fighting a war to various degrees since he entered the wizarding world, but her involvement had been limited. She had just seen death eaters planning what could be the loss of innocent life, and they didn't look too fazed about it, and this shook her. 

Harry put a hand across the table and grabbed her hand, holding it firmly for a while before releasing it. It was his attempt at symbolically supporting her. 

The knowledge that the death eaters were up to something cast a shadow over Harry and Hermione's visit to Hogsmeade, and the atmosphere in the room seemed very unlike that of Hogwarts. 

Hogwarts got far worse than this at times though. It had a pattern to it – whenever a quidditch game was coming up, the school spirit lifted considerably, but it had its slumps as well. 

Breakfast at Hogwarts was one of these slumps. It was well known that Voldemort had been resurrected – the wizarding world had all been informed on the trial outcome, and had seen Harry's recount of Voldemort's rise to power. Since that rise attacks on the wizarding world had begun to steadily increase in numbers and frequency. Voldemort had made no official outings yet, and this was perhaps the most unnerving thing of all. Everyone was aware that he was alive and powerful, and yet he hadn't shown his power at all. 

Instead, the death eaters had broken up into small groups and struck at random all over Britain. Nowhere was safe, attacks happened at random. The attacks took place in relatively small areas and generally tight communities, but other than that, there simply was no pattern to the attacks. They attacked simply to terrorise. These random attacks meant a serious splitting of ministry resources. The Order of the Phoenix went to the major attacks, but the ministry was generally on its own when it came to clean up the aftermath of a random death eater attack. 

It was because of this that breakfast at Hogwarts was perhaps the most depressing time of day. Every morning the students would file lifelessly into the great hall and mechanically fall into their seats. The great hall would be so silent you could hear a pin drop as the students did nothing but stare off into space instead of eating the food on offer. 

About half way through breakfast the owls would arrive. It was this time which was the climax of the day for all the wrong reasons. The papers would bring news of what had happened recently, and in some cases, who had lost family members to the horrible war. It was almost an unspoken rule that everyone allowed their copies of the daily prophet to be dropped off by the owls, before everyone collectively begun to read. No one was particularly enthusiastic about finding out what happened, but it had to be done. As people read over the top story there would either be a collective gasp by the students or a collective sigh of relief. Harry didn't bother subscribing and instead relied on Hermione's daily prophet to bring him news, but every morning he would listen for that gasp or sigh. There were less sighs than there were gasps. 

Hermione, who seemed to be getting better and better at reading Harry like she read a book, put a hand over his in a move to comfort him. She knew that he felt guilty about each and every death, and she was well aware that he put on the strong face for the many who looked up to him. Although Hermione would argue differently, Harry saw himself as nothing to look up to. People were dying daily and he was doing nothing to protect them. 

The general attitude was that the wizarding world was fighting a war that could not be won. Morale was steadily decreasing, and there really did seem to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Harry Potter had triumphed once, but the chances of a repeat as they had happened on that night were very slim. 

"Thank you, Hermione… I just… Well, you know. I need to be doing more." Harry said quietly. 

"Your doing more than you could ever know. We have just one thing left, and that thing is something that you give everyone: hope." Hermione squeezed his hand as she finished, willing him to cheer up. 

"I know… It's just that… Well, Hogwarts seems to be the only place where his influence hasn't completely destroyed, and with the way Hogwarts is slowly dying, I'm not sure how long it will be before everyone is afraid to walk around corners." 

"Hogwarts is perfectly safe from Voldemort. You have enough to worry about in your own life, let alone everyone else in the world. You are the most at risk of everyone." 

"I'm not afraid of loosing my own life, Hermione. Voldemort may be able to catch me, but this time if I walk away alive, it wont be thanks to a fluke. I worry not for my own life, but for the lives of others. Hogwarts is like the family I never had. You and Ron are supportive friends, but both of you are a brother or a sister when I need you. The school has a warm feeling about it that I never ever felt in my muggle life," Harry's voice was growing thin as he said this, and Hermione knew it was one of his rare emotional moments, where he let down the curtains and let out the feelings, "I don't want Hogwarts to be disturbed, I want people to grow and learn as they should." 

Hermione was clearly touched by his sentiment, and she continued hold his hand firmly and supportively. Harry Potter may be more powerful than anyone ever knew, but as people failed to remember time and time again, he was a 15 year old boy, and had lived a very tough childhood. 

"What I think reflects life," Harry continued, his voice regaining some strength, "is a trip on the Hogwarts express. You know your goal, but there's always the possibility that you could get held up or delayed along the way. There's the chance that you might not make it, the chance that it wont go the way you want it to go." 

Hermione just nodded, not sure what she should do, but wanting to show support anyway. Harry was in a rambling mood, but it was important that he stopped caging feels like these up. He needed to keep his cool, and so Hermione got to hear his depression. He never vented his anger or was hostile or unkind to her, he simply told her what was going through his head. Very few times had this ever happened, and prior to this year, this had never happened. Since the dream, however, discussions like this one were becoming more and more common. Harry hated to do this to Hermione, putting her under the strain that he was under and offloading his depression, and he never did it deliberately. Despite Hermione's reassurances that it was all right for him to do so, he felt that he should bear the brunt of his frustration alone. 

It touched Hermione to know that he trusted her enough to poor his feelings out to her, and she knew that she was the only person that he did this to. 

Harry seemed to snap out of his trance, however, and realised that he had gotten carried away. Knowing that his apologises would fall on deaf ears, with Hermione simply saying that he had nothing to apologise for, he simply smiled a small but extremely grateful smile at her, which she returned. 

"Back to school then?" Harry asked, glancing around the restaurant to make sure that no one had overheard his discussion with Hermione, and making sure that the death eaters hadn't returned again. 

Hermione agreed, and so Harry apparated them into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, after discovering that the common room was currently inhabited. His mind was a very accurate form of truth, but in many cases it was misleading, the Astronomy Tower incident with Malfoy being a firm example of this. 

"Its Christmas Harry," Hermione reminded him as they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room, "so, we relax." 

"I never thought I'd see the day where you suggested relaxation over school work." Harry said, sounding surprised and generally impressed that Hermione wasn't suggesting that he buried his head in a book. 

"Who said anything about not doing school work?" Hermione said with a raised eyebrow. 

Harry groaned. 

"I think I've got some issues to attend to actually Hermione… Those death eaters are up to something, so my abilities may be needed faster than you think." 

Hermione looked crazily at him, even super-heroes got days off, "But Harry… Christmas…" 

"Death eaters…" Harry replied with a slight wave of his hand, "I'll be back before you know it, so I'll still be able to relax anyway, and I'll be tired enough to do so." 

Hermione smiled at him, knowing he would be reappearing in what would be hours to him, and less than half a minute to her. 

Harry smiled and vanished with a pop, knowing that today his lesson with Merlin was going to be very meaningful to him. He would inherit a skill that his dad possessed. He would become and animagus. 

********************* 

"Nice of you to stop in, Harry." The exuberant voice of Merlin said from behind him as Harry Potter apparated into the pit of time to complete yet another leg of his training. 

"Good to see you too, Merlin. Unfortunately its not a social visit, and I'm not sure what the date is in here," Harry said with a small smile, "but Happy Christmas." 

"Happy Christmas, to you too. I understand your need for more training. Things aren't going too well in the outside world I take it." 

"Unfortunately not. So Animagi today?" Harry answered and asked at the same time, keen to learn how to do something that had been such a big part of his father's life. It was nice to know that they would share something in common, and both were done with exterior motives. His father in the name of one of his best friends – Remus Lupin, and protecting people from this threat, while Harry was doing it ultimately to save lives and fight a war which his parents were casualties to. 

"That's right. I suspect you wont find becoming an animagi very difficult, Harry. The most important thing is using your mind. It physically will hurt you for a while as your body gets used to the physical changes, but the reason that most people, even when they are compatible with animaging into an animal, fail to do it, is that you must keep a portion of your mind focused on keeping up the change. You must be aware at all times that you do not look like a human, and you must be aware of the characteristics that your animal has." 

Great, Harry thought sarcastically to himself. He could really understand why it took people so long to learn. Flying… That wouldn't be too much fun. 

"No need to look so grim, what takes most people years can take you just hours to pick up, and some practice to perfect the skills. When you open your brain to magical disturbances around you, trying to sense an attack as you did in my maze, you have to concentrate on keeping that detection up. Animaging will be no different to that. You wont even realise that your subconscious is keeping your animaging form up. You will simply tell your subconscious when and when not to animagi you." 

Harry couldn't help but think that this was one of those things that sounded easier than it actually was. It took his dad all that time… Surely he wasn't too much more powerful that his dad was… But on the other hand he had a teacher, where as his dad probably only had books? Well, his dad did it, so Harry was prepared to give it his best shot. 

"What is my animagi form, anyway?" Harry asked Merlin curiously, wondering how such a thing is determined. 

"Forms, plural," Merlin replied with a smile, and seeing Harry's open-mouthed expression he added, "yes, you will be more than one. Through your Gryffindor bloodline you will inherit a number of possible forms. The small portion of people that have more than one animagus forms normally cannot handle more than one, simply because of the hard work going into remembering the characteristics of the animals, and the ability to keep to a form subconsciously. When I say small portion, though, I mean very small portion. You, most likely, are the only person in Hogwarts at this very moment that can take more than one form of animagus." 

The knowledge was overwhelming, "so I'll probably only manage one animagus form at the most?" Harry asked, still optimistic about his success chances. 

Again, Merlin smiled. "No, no. I said _they _could not handle the power. Their minds are not powerful enough. You, on the other hand, are a special case. It is safe to say that while it may take them years to learn, you will be changing animagi forms like you chance CDs on a stereo in a matter of weeks." 

Harry nodded dumbly. 

"As for your forms, Harry, well, when I have magically recognised you as my heir, your abilities will greatly improve. With these improvements, come privileges. You will have an animagus form that is a carbon copy of me as I was back in my day, with perhaps a slight difference. It has never been tested, so I'm not entirely sure. You will also inherit other forms that are parts of you. At least one of your animagus forms from your Gryffindor bloodline will be a stronger part of you, with your creature having many traits that you yourself do. To find out what form you are, you need to look inside of you. There is a potion for this sort of thing, but I am unable to get a hold of the required ingredients, and potion brewing in a room where time travels at a thousandth of usual time tends not to be good for the potions. Use your mind, Harry." 

Now was his big chance to do something, but Harry couldn't help but worry that his mental search may well come up empty. Sharing similar traits with an animal? Surely… 

Mentally, however, he bought things into focus. If he could be an animal… All sorts of possibilities were racing through his head, but which one was he? He could be a cat… No, if McGonagall was the model of what a cat was, he certainly hoped he wasn't one. A dog? A stag, like his father? Deep down he knew he wasn't, but the thought was nice. A rat? No way. Pettigrew… The thought made him feel sick. Focus, Potter, he urged himself. He wasn't really looking with his mind, he was simply running through the forms that he knew some people had, and wondering if he possessed any of those traits. 

As he focused, it came to him. A hawk. The thought just came abruptly to him. He agreed with his subconscious, a hawk did reflect him. He could fly, which was something that Harry relished. It was cunning and smart, which was probably a side that he needed to thank Voldemort for. There were probably other characteristics, but Harry was suddenly worried. What if he happened to be flying, and suddenly lost control of his animagus form? Falling off his broom was never fun… but free falling from a few hundred feet off the ground… Not a good look. 

"A hawk." Harry said with a smile as he looked to his mentor, relieved that he did infact have an animagi form." 

"Excellent, I will remind you though, you will most likely find other forms as well. They will come in time, sometimes as you grow, sometimes when you need them. They will come from inside of you." 

Merlin went on to explain the boring details of a hawk. Teaching Harry all about the finer points of a hawk, ranging from feather structure down to eye size. Harry was keenly interested in the details surrounding his form, but some of them, he reasoned, seemed a bit unnecessary. Still, he hoped he would remember all the details. He did not want to fail. 

Then came the time to try his newly learnt ability. Concentration was very much the key. He desperately tried to subconsciously remember all the details, and he was very nervous. It was thanks to these nerves that his first attempt failed. 

His second attempt was far more colourful. His concentration was firmly on succeeding, instead of trying to remember what to do, so when he felt his eyes drop, as though they had plummeted off the side of a building and then suddenly come to a halt perhaps a foot later, he was so surprised that he changed back into a human. 

Still, it had felt good to be getting somewhere. His next attempt had been much like his third, but by his fourth attempt, he managed to hold his form for about 10 seconds. He just stood there, looking exactly like a hawk, standing tall and proud. 

It didn't last long though. The pain Merlin talked about soon came washing through. He felt numbness, and then he felt a fresh wave of pain. It felt like his body had been squashed together into a round ball and then put into a washing machine. It felt very weird. He lost his form very quickly after this pain had arrived. 

Harry had kept at it though, constantly changing, and slowly building up his resistance to the pain. The pain was physically there, but his mental power, which was every bit as great as Merlin claimed it to be, managed to block a lot of it. Pain was just a simply message from the body to the brain that told the brain that it was hurt. Harry's brain did its best to ignore that message. 

About an hour later, Harry's body felt like he had just had about fifty back-to-back quidditch practices, and Harry one quidditch practice was easily enough to tire Harry out normally. Despite the pain, Harry felt a great sense of accomplishment. He felt like he really had achieved something. 

Merlin called for their training session to end. 

"You've done very well tonight, Harry. Very well. Unfortunately, it is now time for me to move on and allow you to inherit my powers." 

"So you move on forever? You leave the face of the earth? What happens?" Harry asked, alarm creeping into his voice. 

"I will still be here, in the Pit of Time, for a while. I will live my life out at normal pace, though, and I will not be able to leave – I loose all of my magical ability. The Pit of Time will move the speed normal time does, except when you are in here. I will be here to guide, but I will not be able to do any magic at all." 

"But… But what about my training?" Harry asked 

"I have given you all the training I can possibly give you" Merlin answered, almost sadly. 

"So… I'm ready to fight Voldemort?" Harry asked, confused. 

"No, not at all Harry. You have learnt some very useful things, but nothing particularly special. Within you, you will find many things that I have not been able to teach you. Some things that even I didn't discover about myself, and many things that the ancestors in your Gryffindor bloodline gave you." 

"So there are things I don't know, but need to discover… After all that compounding of magic though, slowly collecting more and more power, shouldn't modern day wizards be stronger than the wizards of older generations?" 

"Ahh, but what goes into making you? Did your dad make you on his own, or did someone else assist in the process?" 

"Err, I have a mother, if that's what you're asking?" Harry replied suspiciously, wondering what exactly Merlin was getting at. 

"Exactly. So your mother goes into creating you as well. Having one parent a Muggle, or someone that doesn't have a particularly strong bloodline – muggleborns, weakens the magical line. Similarly, having two powerful parents strengthens the effects. That is why, at odd times, some people are stronger than other people, some are stronger than their parents, others are weaker. 

"So you're saying, that my mum made me less powerful, because she is muggle born?" Harry said, meaning no offence to his mother, but simply trying to clarify things. 

"No, what I said was that when a strong wizard marries a wizard without a particularly strong bloodline, we get a weakening effect. I think the tale of your mother's bloodline is best held elsewhere." 

Harry's thoughts went racing at that. What could be so complex or so important that Merlin chose not to tell him about it? Harry decided to press on anyway. 

"But err, I have the skills to fight with Voldemort now?" 

"Ohh yes. I am certain that you will become a greater wizard than I am. The reason for this is actually nothing to do with genetics. It is all to do with your mind. You have better control of your mind than I have, and that is what makes me believe it. Yesterday, when one of my illusions shot a curse at your back, you noticed it with your mind without meaning to. That is something which not even I am capable after all the training I have had." 

"So I will definitely be able to beat Voldemort as I get more powerful then?" Harry asked. 

Merlin shook his head, "No, Harry. You have a weakness that I cannot fault to you. It is a weakness that has nothing to do with magic, but is instead a thing of the heart. If Voldemort played his cards right, he could make you give up." 

"If Voldemort were to kidnap one of the people I care about I don't think I could go on living and just let that person die – that would force me to surrender." Harry said. 

"No, Harry. You're so powerful that the situation would never come to that. When I mean break, I mean break to the point of not wanting to exist." 

"You mean that by killing somebody, I don't have the will to go on?" Harry asked, finally understanding what Merlin was trying to put across. 

Merlin nodded. 

"I doubt I could live if he killed Ron or Hermione… Sirius… Professor Dumbledore…" Merlin cut him off with the raise of a hand. 

"There is only one person that Voldemort could kill that would make you utterly and entirely break down, with no will to go on." Merlin answered gravely. 

"One? No, surely… I can think of at least 5 people that would discourage me to the point of no more battling." 

"It is only one person Harry. I have seen it as I saw that it was you that I would be training. It is one possible scenario of the future." 

"Who… Who is it then?" Harry choked out, feeling very weak that it was indeed a possibility as much as the Order of the Phoenix dying was a possibility. 

"I cannot tell you Harry, for I also see that your future may indeed cross roads with this person beyond that final confrontation in a different way. To tell you who it is may jeopardize your future." 

Harry nodded, not out of understanding, but in an attempt to comprehend. He had been cursed with this feeling a lot lately – the feeling that he was learning too much. 

Merlin seemed to have finished talking now, and walked over to Harry, placing his hands on Harry's skull. 

"This may hurt. A lot of power will be transferred." 

Harry nodded, bracing himself for pain. 

Merlin muttered something under his breath, causing a small wave to erupt from his hand. The wave slowly grew in intensity, but it did not make contact with Harry. It seemed to orbit his head. When the magic ceased to flow from Merlin's hand, Merlin looked very drained, but still the same. Harry felt a flicker of sadness as he realised the great Merlin was now a muggle. Dying a muggle was not the way that the greatest wizard of all time should die, but it had been and it was Merlin's decision. 

The substance that Harry was certain was magic continued to circle around Harry, as though it was assessing him. It looked like a belt of energy, but Harry knew that its physical appearance was no indication of the vastness of it. 

Suddenly, the magic struck. When Merlin had mentioned pain, he hadn't really prepared Harry for what he did feel. It felt not unlike the crucio curse, except that this wasn't a mind game. This was his body physically trying to deal with his sudden accumulation of magic. Trying to put it anywhere that could store his sudden surplus. Time seemed to pass very slowly as Harry's body adapted to the power that was coursing through it. 

The pain slowly lowered to a bearable level, and Harry felt like a renewed person. So much raw energy was coursing through his veins. So much power that could be used for so much destruction and death. But Harry Potter would not use it for that, for his heart was pure. He turned to Merlin, a fire beginning to kindle in his eyes. He stared the old wizard directly in the eye, thanking him silently for the power. 

"On my parents grave, Voldemort will pay." 

============================== 

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